A 17th century tombstone belonging to ancient Iran discovered earlier in Italy during police operations was handed over to the Iranian Embassy in Rome on Monday. According to Brigadier General Fabrizio Parulli, Carabinieri Commander for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, the historical stone was found in Ferentino Cemetery near Frosinone in 2015, IRNA reported. "Evidence shows that smugglers had abandoned the stone there, trying to escape from police," Parulli added. Reportedly, the stone tablet bears carved Persian verses and personal information of the deceased, in Nastaliq font (traditionally the predominant style in Persian calligraphy). The stone was delivered to Jahanbakhsh Mozaffari, the Iranian ambassador to Italy, after archaeological studies revealed the tombstone belongs to Iran. Appreciating Italian police, and highlighting earlier collaborations of Italian police with Iran especially in regard to cultural heritage, Mozaffari hoped the friendly ties between the two countries will improve. Italy has been on a decades-long campaign to recover priceless artifacts that were looted from Italy and ended up in top-end museums and private collection around the globe, AP reported.
