Angel Statues Stolen from Church in Polla

Case information
Incident date
Country
Italy
Place
Polla
Categories
  • Social Hostility / Intolerance
Attack Against
  • Faith
Perpetrator / Motive Indicators
  • Private
Hate Crime & Violent Incidents
  • Theft
Place of Incident
  • Church
Bias Indicators
  • Significance of Property/Structure/Location to religious community
Reported to Police
  • Yes
Response of Local Authorities
  • Investigated
Symbolic image; not a photograph of the reported incident.Image credit: Michele Bitetto on Unsplash

Statues of Angels were stolen from the Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Rosary in Polla but fortunately have been discovered again and returned. The angels together with an altar from the 18th century were stolen in January 2021. As the angels date back to 1700 they carry a high historical value. The police Unit for the Protection of Cultural Heritage of Naples discovered the stolen angels in a private house in the Neapolitan area. It is planned to hand them over during a ceremony on 21 June, to celebrate both, the church's reopening as well as the recovery of the stolen angels.