Peru welcomes home 342 stolen treasures — from a monumental painting to a one-of-a-kind manuscript

In Lima's Torre Tagle Palace, Foreign Minister Carlos Espá formally handed 342 recovered pieces of Peru's cultural heritage to Culture Minister Alberto Beingolea — the largest such handover of the year. The treasures were tracked down in Germany, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, the United States and the United Kingdom, with help from voluntary returns by foreign citizens and cooperation from the FBI, the US State Department and Argentine federal police. Among them: the monumental painting 'El tránsito de San José' and the manuscript 'El Arte Antiguo Peruano,' prized for its watercolors. The pieces will soon go on special exhibition at the Ministry of Culture so Peruvians can see them.