TOURIST FROM CANADA RETURNS TO POMPEII WITH STOLEN ARTEFACTS AFTER 15 YEARS TO END CURSE
Have you ever experienced a sense of curse? As if you were experiencing negative things and were unable to adequately explain them. For fifteen long years, a Canadian woman named Nicole felt this way; however, she had a suspicion as to how her run of bad luck began. Nothing has been the same since she brought a few random artefacts from the ruins of Pompeii, the ancient Italian city that was permanently preserved by a volcanic eruption in 79 CE, back to Canada when she was 21. In an attempt to lift the curse, she has now decided to return the stolen artefacts.
What precisely did Nicole take, then? She stole two amphora vases, two mosaic tiles, and a section of marble wall. Nicole didn't think much of it at first, even though many people think that the deceased and their belongings should be allowed to rest in peace. But now she is certain that these artefacts from a city's ruins, preserved in time, are cursed with an old curse.
Nicole sent a letter of explanation and the artefacts back to the Archeological Park of Pompeii in an attempt to undo this "curse." In the letter, she states, "We are good people, and I don't want to pass this curse on to my family or children."
She attributed her misdemeanours to the fact that she was "young and dumb" when she stole the antiquated objects. She says, "I wanted a piece of history that couldn't be purchased." Less superstitious people might attribute Nicole's string of misfortunes since her naive unsolicited theft of mementos to life's ups and downs. However, Nicole didn't want to take any more chances after going through two breast cancer episodes and family financial difficulties. In 2020, certain that the curse still had an impact on her life, she gave back the little fragments of Pompeii.
They are now returning hundreds of stolen artefacts and pieces of Pompeii, including rocks, pebbles, and architectural fragments that were taken as souvenirs in the past. Some people want to do the right thing because their conscience is bothering them. Some people think that the way their lives have turned out is directly related to what they did. Authorities have discovered more stolen goods, and some have even appeared for sale on eBay. Following their discovery in an illegal dig site northwest of Pompeii, six exquisite frescoes were returned, and as part of a crackdown on illegal antiquities trading that started in 2020, police also recovered three more frescoes.
In recent years, so many objects have been returned to their rightful places that the Archeological Park has created a museum devoted to stolen and returned artefacts. At a ceremony commemorating the frescoes' return in 2021, General Roberto Riccardi, head of Italy's cultural heritage protection squad, stated, "Ancient works of great value are returning to their rightful place." Massimo Osanna, general director of museums for the Italian Ministry of Culture, said in a statement that every discovery is a significant part of a place's history and knowledge and should always be safeguarded. Ancient curses, whether superstitious or not, and Nicole's act of returning her "souvenirs" are turning out to be extremely helpful for the preservation of history and culture.
