Maurizio Fiorilli, the tireless public prosecutor whose career redefined the global struggle against looted antiquities, has passed away today leaving behind a legacy etched in justice and cultural diplomacy. He also leaves behind a wife and a son, as well as a community of scholars and colleagues across the world who were privileged to learn from his insight, integrity, and unshakable belief in the power of cultural heritage, to unite people across time and borders.

From 1965 to 2017, Fiorilli represented Italy in various courts around the world.  Through his painstaking legal battles, unwavering diplomatic negotiations, and meticulous research, Maurizio secured the return of countless Italian masterpieces: from ancient vases and silver treasures, to stolen books and monumental sculptures, restoring them to the public trust where they belong. 

Vice Avvocato Generale dello Stato, Maurizio Fiorilli, Paolo Giorgio Ferri, Deputy Prosecutor of Rome (1991-2010), and Francesco Rutelli, former Culture Minister of Italy.

But his work was not simply about the objects; it was about righting historic wrongs, repairing the wounds of cultural loss, and affirming that cultural patrimony is not a commodity, but a shared inheritance that demands protection. 

Uncompromising in his principles, Fiorilli confronted the art market and museum world's most powerful players and institutions with a clarity that could not be ignored. He reminded museums, dealers, and governments alike of their legal obligations and their deeper moral responsibilities. His approach was direct, relentless, and unwavering: stolen heritage must go home.

Yet his most emblematic fight remains unfinished. As Italy’s Vice Avvocato Generale dello Stato, Fiorilli devoted years of his work to pursuing the return of the Victorious Youth bronze, sometimes referred to as L’Atleta di Fano. An ancient Greek masterpiece hauled in by fishermen from the Italian waters in the Adriatic, it was smuggled out of the country, and eventually acquired by the J. Paul Getty Museum. 

The Victorious Youth bronze—L’Atleta di Fano just after its discovery and after restoration.

Fiorilli’s dedication was not confined to transatlantic battles abroad. He played a pivotal role in confronting cultural crimes at home, most notably in the Girolamini Library scandal in Naples, which uncovered the systematic theft of thousands of rare books under then-director Marino Massimo De Caro. In pursuing this case, Fiorilli reaffirmed that the fight for cultural heritage must defend against threats both outside and within, and that no one, no matter their position, or political friendships, stands above accountability when entrusted with a nation’s treasures.

Known as “Il Bulldog” for his unbreakable grip on the most complex cases, Fiorilli’s victories were more than legal successes.  They were acts of cultural restoration and moral reparation.  His guiding conviction; that cultural heritage is humanity’s shared memory, now resonates with even greater urgency. And with his passing, Italy and ARCA mourn the loss of a master negotiator, a moral compass, and one of the most formidable defenders of history our generation will ever know.

In 2007, Maurizio Fiorilli convinced the J. Paul Getty Museum to return 39 works excavated in Italy, including a 2,300-year-old vase depicting the Rape of Europa. At the time of his passing, he was still waiting for the museum to do the right thing regarding the "Getty" Bronze.  "Our successes have always been a team effort and are the result of patient and skillful work in "cultural diplomacy." It's been a challenge of dossiers, counter-dossiers, reports, analyses, descriptions, lengthy, scathing correspondence with buyers who deny any responsibility, and complicated face-to-face meetings to convince collectors and museums to return the stolen goods. Collection directors always make a point of ownership: "It's mine," they repeat, "it's proven, look how much I paid for it." We, on the other hand, make a point of culture." --M. Fiorilli 2014

The Getty still refuses to relinquish the Victorious Youth. To honour Maurizio Fiorilli’s memory, the world should demand its return—and continue his fight for justice, and the rightful homecoming of stolen heritage everywhere.

By:  Lynda Albertson