The Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports has announced the impending return of a fragment of the Parthenon frieze from a museum collection in Italy. Conditions for its return are currently undergoing legal consultation by the Central Archaeological Council.

The artifact in question is fragment VI of the east frieze (N.I. 1546), housed in the Museo Archeologico Antonino Salinas in Palermo.

“Subject to the positive opinion of the Central Archaeological Council, the fragment is planned to reach the Acropolis Museum by the end of 2021 as a long-term loan,” followed the statement. “In return, Greece will provide the Museo Archeologico Antonino Salinas with a headless statue of Athena, which will then be replaced by a proto-geometric vase. The two ancient works borrowed from the Acropolis Museum will not be exhibited at the Palermo Museum at the same time, but will be rotated.”

According to Italian law, the duration of the loan will be “four plus four years.”

Communication between the regional government in Sicily and the Greek Minister of Culture and Sports Lina Mendoni, as well as between the two museums, concerning the long-term loan of the fragment began in January 2021.

The news comes amid renewed pressure from the Greek government for the return of the Parthenon Sculptures from the British Museum in London, where they have been since 1816.