Yesterday, authorities in Italy excitedly announced that a stolen Banksy work was found on a small farm in the mountainous region of Abruzzo during a joint operation with French police.

The work, stolen in 2019, is a tribute by the British artist to the victims of the 2015 jihadist attack. Among the multiple attacks that took place in Paris, the Bataclan concert hall was attacked during an Eagles of Death Metal concert in which 90 people were killed. The work consists of a black and white character with an aura of mourning and pain, which was captured on one of the emergency doors through which the survivors of the attack escaped.

Michele Renzo, prosecutor of the city of L’Aquila, stated that:

“We are happy and proud of this discovery because it is a work dedicated to a fundamental episode in our recent history, an episode that made us doubt the certainty of our freedoms, of our convictions.”

Regarding the operation that led to its discovery, the Italian police simply said that the work was found in the attic of the farm, and that it appears to be in good condition. So far there have been no arrests in connection with the theft of the piece and it is unknown how it was moved from France to Italy.

With information from El Sol de Mexico and El Mundo