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PALERMO, ITALY - 30 MAY 2018: Ludovico Gippetto, President of a Palermo cultural association called Extroart, is seen here with a reproduction of Caravaggio's "Nativity" used for his "Wanted" project, here at Extroart in Palermo, Italy, on May 30th 2018.

Mr. Gippetto has also adopted Caravaggio’s “Nativity” for his project “Wanted,” a publicity campaign that involves periodically peppering Palermo with posters of looted artworks on the premise that the better known a work of art is, the harder it is to sell on the black market.

In October 1969 thieves broke into the Oratory of San Lorenzo, a small chapel in Palermo’s then dilapidated Kalsa quarter, and made off with one of the city’s artistic masterpieces: Caravaggio’s “Nativity” altarpiece.

Nearly 50 years after it was stolen, possible evidence suggests that Caravaggio Nativity may have been cut up and sold, according to Gaetano Grado, a Mafia. turncoat. The Antimafia Commission checked out on various fronts Mr. Grado's accounts, and Rosy Bindi, the president of the Antimafia Commission, presented the findings of the commission — published in May — at the Oratory where the Nativity once hung.

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©2018 Gianni Cipriano
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www.giannicipriano.com
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Contained in galleries
20180530_NYT_Caravaggio
PALERMO, ITALY - 30 MAY 2018: Ludovico Gippetto, President of a Palermo cultural association called Extroart, is seen here with a reproduction of Caravaggio's "Nativity" used for his "Wanted" project, here at Extroart in Palermo, Italy, on May 30th 2018.<br /> <br /> Mr. Gippetto has also adopted Caravaggio’s “Nativity” for his project “Wanted,” a publicity campaign that involves periodically peppering Palermo with posters of looted artworks on the premise that the better known a work of art is, the harder it is to sell on the black market. <br /> <br /> In October 1969 thieves broke into the Oratory of San Lorenzo, a small chapel in Palermo’s then dilapidated Kalsa quarter, and made off with one of the city’s artistic masterpieces: Caravaggio’s “Nativity” altarpiece.<br /> <br /> Nearly 50 years after it was stolen, possible evidence suggests that Caravaggio Nativity may have been cut up and sold, according to Gaetano Grado, a Mafia. turncoat. The Antimafia Commission checked out on various fronts Mr. Grado's accounts, and Rosy Bindi, the president of the Antimafia Commission, presented the findings of the commission — published in May — at the Oratory where the Nativity once hung.