A major exhibition recounting the fantastic recovery of Italy’s masterpieces from France

Napoleon’s ascent to power at the turn of the 19th-century included plundering Italy’s artistic patrimony, seizing countless paintings, sculptures, and more from private collections and churches. The stolen art was bound for a “universal museum,” known today as the Louvre. By 1861, the bulk of the works were returned to their homeland, with the majority re-homed in museums in Rome, Bologna, Venice, and Milan.

An impressive selection of the repatriated art, featuring masterpieces by Raphael, Titian, Tintoretto, Canova, Perugino, and others, are on display at the Scuderie del Quirinale’s exhibit The Universal Museum: From Napoleon’s Dream to Canova, on through March 12th.