ROME, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- A painting by Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt is to appear in an online display by an Italian gallery on Saturday, 23 years after it was stolen, local media reported.
The Ricci Oddi Gallery in the northern Italian city of Piacenza was due to display "Portrait of a Lady" through live broadcast because Italian art spaces remain closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Presenting the painting to viewers again is primarily "a present for the city of Piacenza, so tested by the pandemic that has hit our country and the entire world," gallery director Massimo Ferrari said in a statement.
The painting, which was stolen from the Ricci Oddi Gallery in February 1997, was found in the courtyard of the same gallery in December 2019.
The painting, which was wrapped in a black plastic bag and appeared to be undamaged, was recovered from a cavity protected by a metal door in an exterior wall of the gallery, as gardeners cleared away ivy. Enditem
