The Getty museum of Los Angeles has agreed to return a prized statue, dubbed ‘The Aphrodite,’ to Italy following years of dispute over allegedly looted antiquities, the Italian culture ministry announced on Wednesday.
Under a bilateral agreement, the Getty will "transfer to Italy 40 objects, including the Aphrodite," formally called the Cult Statue of a Goddess, in 2010, the ministry said in a communique.
The statue was at the centre of the dispute between the museum and Italian authorities, who claimed it was illegally exported and demanded its immediate return.