Deal with Sicily Could Save Cleveland Museum’s Exhibition

Cultural authorities in Sicily have made a proposal to the Cleveland Museum of Art that could resurrect a canceled exhibition of antiquities from the Italian island, The Plain Dealer writes.

The newspaper reported last week that Sicily was demanding the return of items loaned for the show, now on display at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, saying their absence was damaging the tourist economy on the island, which, like the rest of Italy, has been hammered by the recession.

Sicilian officials subsequently told The Plain Dealer the matter was not yet settled and that they had made an “economic proposal” to the Cleveland Museum, where the exhibition was to have opened in September. The newspaper said the offer likely involved hefty fees to exhibit the ancient artifacts. As of late Sunday, museum director David Franklin had not publicly responded to the offer.