Franco Malosso Jailed 28 Months for Fake 54,000-Square-Foot Greek Theater in Italy
Updated
Updated · CNN · Aug 24
Franco Malosso Jailed 28 Months for Fake 54,000-Square-Foot Greek Theater in Italy
3 articles · Updated · CNN · Aug 24
Summary
Italy’s top court upheld Franco Malosso’s sentence, sending him to jail for 28 months for art forgery, unauthorized construction and damaging a protected landscape near Arcugnano.
Prosecutors said Malosso built the nearly 54,000-square-foot hillside site from scratch after seeking permission for a garage, then told builders to “make it look old” and marketed it as a 2,000-year-old Greek discovery.
Visitors were charged up to 40 euros, with private tours reportedly costing 600 euros for 45 minutes, before police and heritage officials identified the site as fake in a single-day 2016 inspection.
Court records said the supposed amphitheater used newly quarried stone, cement and polystyrene on UNESCO-protected Berici Hills land; Malosso was also ordered to pay 3,000 euros in fines and 3,500 euros in legal fees.
The case has shocked Italy’s heritage sector because investigators said they had never seen an entire archaeological site forged, and the sequestered structure still faces costly demolition.