Italian art authorities have seized 21 artworks from a major Salvador Dalí exhibition in Parma after suspecting they were falsely attributed to the famous Spanish surrealist. The exhibition, titled "Dalí, Between Art and Myth," had only been open for a few days at Palazzo Tarasconi when police confiscated the allegedly forged pieces, which included drawings, tapestries, and engravings.

The investigation began in January when officers from the Rome unit of the Carabinieri art squad conducted a routine inspection of the exhibition while it was being hosted at the Museo Storico della Fanteria. Diego Poglio, the senior officer leading the investigation, explained that something immediately seemed suspicious about the display. "During the inspection, the kind we generally do at museums, something seemed to be amiss," Poglio told the Guardian. "We noticed that only lithographs, posters and drawings by Dalí were on display, along with a few statues and other objects, but no paintings or anything of importance."

Poglio found it particularly strange that an exhibition would focus exclusively on lower-value works. "It was difficult to understand why someone would want to organize an exhibition of such low-value works," he said. This unusual composition prompted the art squad to contact the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation, based in Figueres, Catalonia, which manages the artist's collection and authentication processes.

The foundation's response raised even more red flags. Officials revealed that the exhibition organizers had never contacted them about the show, which Poglio described as "absolutely strange." He emphasized that proper protocol requires consultation with the foundation: "If you want to organize an exhibition of an artist's works, especially such an important one, you can't not go through the foundation which manages the collection."

Following this discovery, police sent photographs of the questioned artworks to the Gala-Salvador Dalí Foundation for expert evaluation. The foundation, which oversees the legacy of the artist who died in 1989, agreed that something didn't add up and dispatched a team of experts to Rome to examine the pieces in person. "They also suspected ambiguities and so Rome prosecutors gave the order for the 21 works to be seized," said Poglio.

The investigation is still in its early stages, and authorities are proceeding carefully. "Now we will proceed with the necessary technical and scientific investigations to determine whether the works are authentic or not," Poglio explained. He emphasized that the investigation remains in its preliminary phase and that nobody has yet been suspected of wrongdoing.

This case highlights a broader problem facing the art world today. Italy's art police, known for their expertise in cultural heritage protection, regularly encounter cases involving reproduced works by famous artists being sold or exhibited as originals. "We're seeing a significant presence of fakes in the market, especially in contemporary art," said Poglio. "It is a global phenomenon."

The Dalí case is just one of several recent high-profile art fraud discoveries in Italy. In February, police in Rome uncovered a clandestine workshop where fake paintings by Pablo Picasso and Rembrandt were being produced and sold online. This discovery followed the dismantling of a Europe-wide forgery network that had been suspected of producing replicas of works by renowned artists including Banksy, Picasso, Andy Warhol, and Gustav Klimt.

Poglio noted that many forgeries only come to light when they are displayed at prominent museums, where they receive greater scrutiny. He acknowledged that exhibition organizers often act in good faith, but stressed the importance of proper verification procedures. "Many of those behind the exhibitions act in good faith," said Poglio. "That being said, we must always be careful – those in charge of the scientific curation must always conduct thorough checks on authenticity before displaying the works."