Stolen Christopher Columbus Letter Finally Returns to Italy
The United States has returned a rare 15th-century letter written by Christopher Columbus to Italy. The letter, valued at over $1.3 million, was stolen between 1985 and 1988 from the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. It was recovered in 2020 from a private collector in Texas and voluntarily relinquished. The letter, one of 30 surviving first editions, was delivered to Italian officials by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. This is the fourth original edition of the letter stolen in recent decades, and its return has been celebrated as the right thing to do.