Artificial intelligence helped locate a painting stolen 20 years ago

In Italy, artificial intelligence has been used to identify a 17th-century painting that was stolen nearly 20 years ago. The perpetrators had attempted to conceal the work's original appearance by altering certain parts of it.


Italian police utilized an artificial intelligence system called "Swoads" to identify stolen artworks. According to the BBC, since November 2023, this technology has facilitated the recovery of over 300 major paintings and sculptures, as well as more than 165,000 coins, medals, and manuscripts—with a total value exceeding 203 million euros. The system analyzes the colors and shapes of artworks to detect similarities; it is capable of recognizing an original piece even if parts of the image have been altered.

In October 2024, at an antiques fair held in the city of Parma, police officers photographed the artworks on display and uploaded the images into the system. The artificial intelligence then flagged a painting that depicted a young woman holding a scroll. Investigations revealed that this piece is a 17th-century painting depicting Saint Agnes, which had been stolen from a church in the city of Sulmona in 2004. To disguise the original appearance of the work, the perpetrators replaced the lamb held by the saint with an image of an inscription, and removed both the halo above her head and the palm branch.

Artificial intelligence itself cannot recover stolen artworks; it merely assists in identifying them. The return of such pieces to their rightful owners is carried out through investigative processes and the cooperation of law enforcement agencies. Italy plans to develop an international system by 2027 designed to identify stolen works of art.