A bronze statue of the Greek god Zeus and a marble female torso, which were stolen from an archaeological museum in Italy in the 1980s, were returned to their home soil after they were spotted in a New York gallery.

The two artifacts were found by Michele Speranza, a Carabinieri art squad officer during his vacation. Speaking at a press conference held on Friday in Rome, Speranza said that as he was walking down Madison Avenue, he had spotted the bronze statue and thought he had seen them at the Carabinieri database.

He then took pictures of the statue from his cell phone and checked up on it upon his return to Italy.
The Carabinieri art division is acclaimed for tracking down stolen artwork that has been illegally removed from Italy.

General Pasquale Muggeo, its head said that the pieces which are estimated to be worth around 500,000 euros had been dismissed as lost.

The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency which facilitated the returns of the pieces to Italy said that the owner had given them up voluntarily.

It is said that the owners of both pieces were unaware of their stolen origins.
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