US News

Roman statue stolen from Mussolini is returning to Italy

A rare Roman statue swiped from Italian dictator Benito Mussolini’s former home is headed back to Italy after more than three decades.

The Torlonia Peplophoros statue.Robert Miller

The marble sculpture of a limbless woman in a shroud, known as “Torlonia Peplophoros,” was stolen from the Villa Torlonia mansion, which the fascist called home for most of his time in power, along with 14 other statues Nov. 13, 1983.

It was smuggled into the Unites States in the late 1990s and then purchased for $81,000 by a private art collector in 2001, authorities said.

When the collector learned the piece had been pilfered while trying to auction it off in 2015, he turned it over to New York-based FBI Special Agents Steve Gonzalez and Christopher McKeogh, the feds said.

The FBI briefly put the statue on display at the New York Historical Society Library on Central Park West and West 76th Street on Wednesday afternoon before shipping it back to its home.

“Today’s ceremony is just one example of the FBI’s commitment to restore significant arts and antiquities to their rightful owners, and we remind everyone of the significant role they serve in preserving the history of the world,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Michael McGarrity.

The statue’s thief has never been arrested.

It takes its name from its stately villa home and the body-length garment its subject is wearing, a “peplos.’’