An ancient Greek vase gifted to an Italian leader is returned by his family to Greece

ATHENS, Greece — A valuable ancient vase gifted more than 70 years ago by the Greek government to an Italian prime minister has been voluntarily returned to Greece by the former statesman's grandson.

The Greek culture ministry on Friday praised the ''most courteous gesture'' by Paolo Catti De Gasperi, whose grandfather Alcide De Gasperi headed Italian governments from 1945 to 1953.

A ministry statement said the mid-to-late 5th Century B.C. artifact had been presented to De Gasperi by his Greek counterpart, Alexandros Papagos, during a state visit to Athens in 1953. It said Papagos wanted to convey gratitude for De Gasperi's ''decisive contribution'' in ceding the Dodecanese islands in the Aegean Sea to Greece — one of a number of territories a defeated Italy was forced to relinquish after World War II.

The large, ornate terracotta artifact is decorated with red figures on a black background, and is of the type known as a crater. The ancient Greeks used such vases to mix wine — which they avoided drinking neat — with water.

Catti De Gasperi handed the piece over to Greek Culture Minister Lina Mendoni during a ceremony at the Greek embassy in Rome.

Greece has been aggressive in seeking the return of its ancient cultural heritage from museums and private collections worldwide — above all the British Museum's collection of Parthenon Sculptures.

But Mendoni stressed that this was a completely different case.

''We are particularly grateful, because, while (Catti De Gasperi) held (the crater) completely legally, he felt the need and had the generosity to return it to Greece,'' Mendoni said. ''It's a family heirloom that's linked with the modern history of both Greece and Italy.''

The vase is decorated with a woman seeing off two warriors preparing to leave for military service, and on the other side three young men in civilian dress. Such artifacts can raise tens of thousands of euros when sold at auction outside Greece, where most antiquities are by law state property.

The ministry said the vase will be permanently exhibited at a museum in the ancient Kerameikos cemetery in Athens.

Italy seized the Dodecanese, which include the islands of Rhodes and Kos, from the Ottoman Empire in 1912 and held them until 1947.