Morocco Hands over Multimillion-Euro Baroque Painting to Italy

Moroccan authorities handed over to Italian counterparts a stolen 17th century Baroque Italian painting worth up to six million euros.

The painting by Giovanni Francesco, known as Guercino, had been recovered in Morocco after being stolen from a church in the northern Italian city of Modena in 2014.

The Moroccan police returned the painting to Italy’s ambassador to Morocco during a ceremony organized in Casablanca.

The artwork was found thanks to a wealthy Moroccan businessman and art collector, in Casablanca. The collector immediately recognized the piece and reported the incident to the Moroccan police who informed the Interpol and Italian counterparts.

The painting depicts “Madonna with Saints John Evangelist and Gregory the Miracle Worker”.

It was painted in 1639 and is valued by art experts at between five and six million euros.

Giovanni Francesco (1591-1666), who was cross-eyed and went by the name Guercino (The Squinter), is known for his naturalist, Caravaggesque style.