Near the point where La Rioja, Navarre, Zaragoza and Soria meet, on the banks of the Alhama and standing since the 12th century, is the Monastery of Santa María la Real de Fitero. This Cistercian Romanesque gem, founded by the warrior monk Raimundo de Fitero, was robbed in 2010, when six hermitages, two churches and the monastery itself in the Comunidad Foral of Navarre had part of their artistic heritage stolen.
Sixteen years on, a joint operation by the National Police and Catalonia’s Mossos d’Esquadra has succeeded in recovering a carved, gilded and polychrome wooden relief depicting Saint Bonaventure. The unknown artist has been linked to the school of Juan de Ancheta, a sculptor from Gipuzkoa born in the 16th century and a representative of the Romanist style. The piece was recovered last April, but has only now been returned to its original location.
Tracking the black market in art smuggling between Madrid and Barcelona
The investigation began with the current owner of the piece. Although they acquired it at an auction house in Barcelona, the work had passed through several hands and businesses beforehand. The authorities traced the origin of the fraudulent sale to Madrid’s popular Sunday Rastro market.
At the end of April, officers seized the piece in the Catalan capital and notified the competent judicial authority, which has ordered its return to the authorities of the Archdiocese of Pamplona and Tudela as its rightful owners.