(ANSA) - Piacenza, January 17 - Experts have declared a
painting found in Piacenza in December to be an authentic work
by Gustav Klimt, the northern city said on Friday.
The painting is Klimt's Portrait of a Lady, which went
missing from Piacenza's Ricci Oddi Modern Art Gallery in 1997
and was presumed stolen.
During work to clean up ivy covering the gallery's exterior
wall, an interspace closed by a door was discovered, behind
which there was a bag containing the picture.
"This news is of historic importance for the artistic and
cultural community and for the city of Piacenza," said Mayor
Patrizia Barbieri and Culture chief Jonathan Papamarenghi.
The Barbieri and Papamarenghi thanked the experts and the
police who worked on the case and "never gave up the
investigation".
Piacenza Klimt painting authentic
Work went missing in 1997