An homage to the victims of the 2015 Paris attacks by street artist Banksy was returned to France on Tuesday after the stolen work was found in Italy.
The image of a young girl in mourning was painted with stencil and white paint on an emergency door of the Bataclan concert hall in Paris where ISIL gunmen killed 90 people in one of the coordinated attacks which caused 130 fatalities in the French capital nearly five years ago.
The door, stolen in January 2019, was found in the attic of an abandoned farmhouse in the eastern Italian region of Abruzzo last month.
The chief prosecutor of Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, and the head of Italy's police in charge of cultural heritage handed over the work to France's ambassador Christian Masset at a Bastille Day ceremony.
"It is a very moving moment to get back this door on our national holiday... it was witness to the massacre that claimed the lives of 90 people," said Masset during a ceremony at the embassy.
"Many people in the audience escaped through this emergency door. It has lived, heard and seen the whole massacre," he added.
The work will be exhibited at the French embassy and sent to France later Tuesday.
The image of a young girl in mourning was painted with stencil and white paint on an emergency door of the Bataclan concert hall in Paris where ISIL gunmen killed 90 people on November 13, 2015. /CFP
Works by Banksy, known for their distinctive style, irreverent humor and thought-provoking themes, have been found on walls, buildings and bridges from the West Bank to post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
At auction, works by the artist – who keeps his identity secret – have sold for more than one million U.S. dollars.
Theft captured on video
Hooded thieves had managed to nab the Bataclan work by cutting through the metal door of the club, a scene captured on video by surveillance cameras.
Last month, six people were arrested in France over the theft. Two were charged with robbery in an organized gang and the other four with receiving stolen goods.
Works by Banksy, now one of the world's most highly regarded contemporary artists, often shine a spotlight on social issues, such as migration or racism.
In recent weeks, he has posted on his Instagram account a drawing showing a lit candle setting fire to the American flag above a picture of a black man, in homage to George Floyd, the U.S. man whose death in police custody ignited protests across the country.
On Tuesday, Banksy published on his Instagram account a video of a new art work installed on a London underground train titled "If you don't mask – you don't get" showing a sneezing rat.
(With input from AFP and Reuters)