The structure of the Carabinieri TPC begins with a headquarters in Rome, along with the databank and the Operative Department which is divided into Archaeology, Antiques and Forgery Units. The main headquarters are located in Piazza Sant’Ignazio, in a palace designed and built by Filippo Raguzzini (1727–28), while the databank and Operative Department are located in a renovated monastery complex called Caserma La Marmora, on the west side of the Tiber in Trastevere. The Rome headquarters and Operative Department are complemented by the regional offices that have varying sets of priorities and corresponding expertise as required by the differing challenges of the regions. This organisational structure, with resources and assets in a central location supplemented by regional field offices with local knowledge, forms an extremely effective foundation for comprehensive law enforcement related to the arts and archaeology. In addition to the databank, the Rome operative unit also offers ‘in-house’ forensic analysis to complement its liaison services to universities for additional forensics, artistic, archaeological and other specialised expertise. The Rome-based units also coordinate technological support for investigations such as wire-tapping and mobile phone call interceptions.

Militarised policing, partnered with the requirement to be responsive to the needs of the Ministry of Culture, results in a level of professionalism that is very difficult to duplicate in any other context. Essentially the Carabinieri TPC offers the best of both the academic and law enforcement worlds, with outstanding subject matter expertise combined with investigation experience. Field officers and the operations units collect information from all over Italy and organise that information into the databank, from where it can be readily retrieved and analysed, providing the Carabinieri with an extremely powerful base of information at their fingertips to support reconnaissance, as well as prosecution and recovery efforts.

THE DATABANK

One of the signature programmes of the Carabinieri TPC is the databank, or Banca Dati Leonardo . One of the earliest efforts in the world to use computer technology to trace stolen works of art, the databank remains up to date and is one of the most important assets available to Italians and the international community for the recovery of art and cultural property. A visit to the databank unit reveals the tremendous sophistication of the system and the extraordinary expertise of the officers who work with it on a daily basis.