Italian cultural authorities said Tuesday they had recovered two precious Byzantine-era frescos ripped from a church in southern Italy by looters 27 years ago that ended up at the home of a shipping heiress on a remote Greek island.

The Carabinieri art squad showed off the delicate frescos and other artifacts recovered by Italy as part of its crackdown on illicit antiquities trafficking. In all, police say they recovered more than euro3 million ($4 million) worth of stolen statues, busts, and ancient pots.

Police say the frescos were discovered as part of investigations into Marion True, a former curator of the John Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. True is on trial in Rome with art dealer Robert Hecht, accused of knowingly acquiring dozens of allegedly looted ancient artifacts. Both deny wrongdoing.