Banksy artwork stolen from Bataclan in Paris found in Italy

ITALIAN police have recovered a Banksy mural that was stolen from the Bataclan Concert Hall in Paris last year. 

The artwork by the famous British graffiti artist was discovered in a farmhouse in the region of Abruzzo in Italy. 

The mural had been stolen from the Bataclan Concert Hall emergency doors in January 2019. The work depicts a young girl with head bowed and veiled and had been painted as a tribute to the victims of the terror attack that took place in 2015 at the venue. Ninety people died when armed militants opened fire during a concert in November 2015. 

After the theft, the Bataclan wrote on Twitter, “Banksy’s work, a symbol of recollection and belonging to all: locals, Parisians, citizens of the world, has been taken from us.”

On Tuesday, Italian police retrieved the mural from a farmhouse in Teramo in Abruzzo. 

Michele Renzo, head of L’Aquila’s district prosecutor’s office, told Italian newspaper la Repubblica, “The finding was possible following investigations conducted by the district prosecutor in collaboration with the police and the French investigators.”

Details about the identity of the suspected thieves have not yet been released by authorities.