Letters from Altiero Spinelli recovered by the Carabinieri and handed over to the historical archives of the European Community

I carabinieri of the Heritage Protection Unit Cultural of Florence and Udine have delivered 21 documents coming from the correspondence of the Honorable Altiero Spinelli, one of the fathers of the European Economic Community, with the institutions of his time, to Historical Archives of the European Union (Historical Archives of the European Union) che hanno sede a Villa Salviati in Florence.

The investigation, which led to the seizure of this important group of letters, began in 2021 by the TPC military of Florence who had received an investigative activation after thesale on online auction channels of a rare typed letter with autographed signature of the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Aldo Moro, with Altiero Spinelli, dated 1 August 1973. The civil code establishes, in fact, that the archives and documents of public bodies are subject to the regime of public property and, therefore, are inalienable. Consequently, these documents fall within the regulatory provisions of cultural assets belonging to the State or Public Bodies.

The reconstruction of sales channel led the Carabinieri to identify, in a forty-year-old resident in the province of Pordenone, the person who had put the letter in question up for sale and, once the local Public Prosecutor’s Office was involved, a fine was issued against him search and seizure decree for the crime of receiving stolen goods. The man was very cooperative, confirming that he, as a fan of autographed letters, had made the purchase through e-commerce channels and at used item markets.

The soldiers of the TPC Unit of Udine therefore executed the provision by seizing the requested letter and, at the same time, noted the presence of other similar documentation, all belonging to important correspondence concerning ministries and other public bodies. In particular, the 21 documents written by Altiero Spinelli, or directed to him, with particular regard to his functions carried out within what, at that time, was still the EEC (European Economic Community).

In the subsequent analysis phase, the letters were viewed by the director of the Historical Archives of the European Union which is based at theThe European University Institute of Villa Salviati in Florencewho reported that the documents are certainly original, even if unpublished, and are relevant to Spinelli fund held in that European Institution restricted for the recognition of historical and cultural interest. All documents and correspondence with the offices of the European institutions must be stored in the Villa Salviati Archives to which they must flow 30 years after they were produced. The documents returned certainly constitute material stolen illicitly but on a date and in circumstances impossible to ascertain, given the time that has elapsed.

In addition to the documents attributable to correspondence with the Honorable Spinelli, others were seized 5 letters regarding discussions with the Municipality of Treviso and with some military commands in the territory. These state documents are intended to be delivered to the Archival and Bibliographic Superintendency of the Veneto of Venice, competent for the Veneto Region according to the same release from seizure provision issued by the Pordenone Prosecutor’s Office.

Italian politician passed away in 1986, Altiero Spinelli is considered one of the founding fathers of the European Union. Known for his writings that influenced the process of post-war European integration, he is the author of the “Manifesto for a free and united Europe”better known by the name of “Ventotene Manifesto”which he edited in 1941 with the contribution of Ernesto Rossi and Eugenio Colorni during the period in which he was confined to the Pontine island. He was a deputy of the Republic and a member of the European Parliament from 1979 to 1986, carrying out various roles in the field of European policies.