The Minister for Culture of Italy is visiting the Italian Parliament to urge collaboration between the two countries for the recovery and conservation of the looted antiquities, which can serve as a template for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures to Athens.

Alessandro Giuli made the statements at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki in the presence of his Greek counterpart Lina Mendoni, during which 145 bronze coins were formally handed back to Greece from Italy.

“Once a week, I have to read a book by Christopher Hitchens for the sake of those sculptures of the Parthenon. I wish that today and the cooperation between Greece and Italy in the protection of archaeological heritage will provide an example to our British friends,” Giuli said.

The two also signed an extension of a memorandum of understanding on the joint management of looted antiquities recovered from the London-based art dealership Robin Symes Limited.

Now some 70,000 fragments of ancient findings connected to illicit excavation and trafficking networks are covered by the agreement, Mendoni said.