A Chilean retiree, Enrico Tosti-Croce, who returned an ancient Greek marble fragment that his father, an Italian naval officer, had taken from the Acropolis during a visit to Athens in the 1930s, spoke to The Art Newspaper.
Acquisition of the Acropolis fragment and family history
The artifact’s journey began when Enrico’s father, Gaetano Tosti-Croce, took the 1.2kg piece of marble—a trapezoidal fragment carved with lotus flowers—from the foot of the Parthenon during a naval visit in the 1930s. Gaetano subsequently brought the fragment with him when he emigrated to Chile in 1949.
Enrico Tosti-Croce inherited the piece when his parents died in 1994, and it remained in his possession as a family ornament until its repatriation.
🏛 Enrico Tosti-Croce heredó la pieza del primer templo de Acrópolis de su padre, un miembro de la Armada italiana que la recogió del suelo de Atenas en 1930
🖋 @antonialaborde
🔗 https://t.co/VKIqJXciQc pic.twitter.com/dMhoj5BxRb— EL PAÍS Chile (@elpais_chile) September 3, 2025
Tosti-Croce was prompted to return the artifact after hearing news reports about the Greek government’s decades-long campaign for the repatriation of the Parthenon Marbles from the British Museum.
The marble piece had been a long-time ornament in the family’s homes. Tosti-Croce recalled to The Art Newspaper his initial reaction to the repatriation news, stating:
“When I heard the news, I said: ‘Wow, I have a little piece of the Parthenon.’” He also recounted how he used to show the artifact to guests: “When someone came to my house for the first time, I would show them that stone and say: ‘This is from the Parthenon.’ Some believed me, others didn’t.”
He ultimately decided the artifact belonged back in Greece, concluding, “It’s my responsibility to return it.”
The discovery and satisfaction
Chilean retiree returns Ancient Greek marble fragment his father took in the 1930s
Enrico Tosti-Croce’s father, an Italian naval officer, had taken a piece of the Acropolis during a visit to Athenshttps://t.co/gbQHISxogz pic.twitter.com/gjCASDkp0t
— Sarah (@Sarah404BC) November 4, 2025
After Tosti-Croce delivered the fragment to the Greek embassy, the Hellenic Ministry of Culture identified the piece. The retiree was surprised to learn the artifact was not from the Parthenon, but from the roof-gutter of the Hekatompedon, an archaic temple and the first monumental temple on the Acropolis, built in the 6th century BC.
He noted: “It turned out the piece wasn’t from the Parthenon, but from an even older temple.”
Reflecting on his act of restitution, Tosti-Croce described a profound sense of fulfillment:
“When I left the Greek embassy after handing over the piece of marble, I felt a special kind of satisfaction. I don’t even know how to describe it… I felt like I had done something good,” he told The Art Newspaper.
The Greek embassy is set to honor him for his gesture, as Greece hopes others follow his example.
