The Palermo fragment, also known as Fagan slab from the name of the artist and British consul Robert Fagan who owned it, is a 2,500-year-old marble sculpture fragment of the foot and dress of the ancient Greek goddess Artemis.[1]
The Palermo fragment was taken by Lord Elgin from the Parthenon in the early 19th century and given to the British Consul to Sicily in 1816.[2] For the past two centuries, the fragment had been kept at the Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo.[3] Greece's 13-year campaign for the return of the fragment ended on 24 September 2008, when Italian President Giorgio Napolitano delivered the fragment to Athens on a temporary loan.[4] This move was anticipated to strengthen Greece's request for the British Museum to return the Elgin Marbles.[5] In 2022, the fragment was permanently returned to the Acropolis Museum, where it has been reunited with the rest of the Parthenon frieze.[6] The Salinas Archaeological Museum in Palermo is one of three collections to have returned Parthenon fragments to Greece.[7]
- ^ Italy returns Parthenon marble fragment to Greece. CBC News. 24 September 2008. Archive.
- ^ "AFP: Italy returns long lost Parthenon fragment to Greece". Archived from the original on 2008-09-27. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ "Italy has returned to Greece the 'Palermo fragment' - XpatAthens.com - Daily news". Archived from the original on 2011-07-18. Retrieved 2008-09-25.
- ^ "Greece welcomes home Parthenon marble from Italy". Reuters. 24 September 2008.
- ^ "Italy returns missing foot to Greece". 25 September 2008.
- ^ Titi, Catharine (2023). The Parthenon Marbles and International Law. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-26357-6. ISBN 978-3-031-26356-9. S2CID 258846977.
- ^ Titi, Catharine (2023-02-15). "Debate: Sorry, British Museum, a loan of the Parthenon Marbles is not a repatriation". The Conversation. Retrieved 2024-10-03.