Art squad seizes Leopardi manuscript of poem The Infinite

Two under investigation after manuscript pulled from auction

(ANSA) - Ancona, July 24 - The Carabinieri art squad on Thursday seized a manuscript of Giacomo Leopardi's famous poem The Infinite and two people were placed under investigation, police sources said. The manuscript was pulled from auction in Rome in June, possibly for questions of authenticity. The early-19th-century poem of the Romantic's yearning to travel was put on the block with a starting bid of 150,000 euros by Minerva Auctions.

The news of its withdrawal was announced by the culture assessor of the central Marche region, where Leopardi was from. It was unclear if the manuscript simply found no bidders or if concerns were raised about whether it came from Leopardi's hand. "It earned us time to deeply analyze the manuscript," said Marche Councilor Pietro Marcolini.

Two other confirmed manuscripts of the poem are known to exist in Naples and Visso, in Marche. The manuscript up for auction was discovered by the culture director in the town of Cingoli, Marche among the papers of a private collection.