Italy
A package containing artefacts, stolen from the ancient site of Pompeii, was delivered to a travel agent with a letter saying the artefacts were ‘cursed’.
The letter, written in English by a Canadian woman, said the antiques were stolen in 2005, during a visit to the archaeological site in southern Italy. “Take them back, please, they bring bad luck,” the woman, named Nicole, wrote.
The package contained two mosaic pieces, two parts of an amphora and a piece of ceramic.
Pompeii is one of Italy’s most visited ancient sites. A sudden eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79AD buried the Roman town, which was largely preserved under ash. The woman said that after taking the artefacts to Canada, her life was struck by tragedy. “I took some of these pieces when I visited Pompeii in 2005. I was young and stupid, and I wanted to have a piece of history,” she wrote.
“I stole a piece of history that had lots of negative energy inside,” she said. “People there died in horrible ways. Bad luck played with me and my family.”
The woman said she was 36, had twice had breast cancer and was asking for “God’s forgiveness”. “We’re good people… I just want to shake this curse off me and my family,” she added. The owner of the Italian travel agency handed over the artefacts to the police.
“I am now 36 and had breast cancer twice,” she said. “The last time ending in a double mastectomy. My family and I also had financial problems. We’re good people and I don’t want to pass this curse on to my family or children.”
Nicole is not the only one to repent. The package contained another confessional letter from a couple, also from Canada, along with some stones stolen from the site in 2005.
“We took them without thinking of the pain and suffering these poor souls experienced during the eruption of Vesuvius and their terrible death,” they wrote. “We are sorry, please forgive us for making this terrible choice. May their souls rest in peace.”
Over the years, so many stolen relics have been returned to the site, along with letters expressing guilt, that park officials established a museum displaying the artefacts.—Agencies
