Near the junction of La Rioja, Navarre, Zaragoza and Soria, on the banks of the Alhama and standing since the 12th century, the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Fitero rises. The Cistercian Romanesque gem, founded by the warrior monk Raimundo de Fitero, was robbed back in 2010, when six hermitages, two churches and the monastery itself in the Chartered Community of Navarre had part of their artistic heritage stolen.
Sixteen years later, a joint operation between the National Police and the Catalan Mossos d'Esquadra has managed to recover a carved, gilded and polychrome wooden relief depicting Saint Bonaventure.
Its unknown creator has been linked to the school of Juan de Ancheta, a sculptor from Gipuzkoa born in the 16th century and a representative of the Romanist style. The piece was recovered last April, but has only now been returned to its original location.
Tracking the black market in art smuggling between Madrid and Barcelona
The investigation began with the current owner of the piece. Although he acquired it at an auction house in Barcelona, the work had already passed through several hands and establishments. The authorities traced the origin of the fraudulent sale to Madrid's popular Sunday Rastro market.
At the end of April, officers seized the piece in the Catalan capital and notified the competent judicial authority, which has ordered it to be returned to the authorities of the Archdiocese of Pamplona and Tudela as its rightful owners.
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