The first batch of antiquities that the John Paul Getty Museum has agreed to return to Italy will arrive in the capital next week and will be prepared for public exhibition here.
A formal accord in which the Los Angeles-based institute promised to hand over 40 contested art treasures, including a 5th-century BC statue of Aphrodite, was signed by the two sides in Rome on Tuesday.
The Aphrodite, believed to be from the ancient Greek city of Morgantina in Sicily and a touchstone of the Getty collection, won't come back until 2010.
But the other 39 antiquities are to be flown to Italy in two or three batches, starting in the first week of October and ending in December.
"This is the beginning of a new era and the start of some important international cooperation," said Italian Culture Minister Francesco Rutelli.
He said he hoped the return of the antiquities, after a long battle, would open an "era of transparency in the acquisition of archaeological material".
Top culture ministry official Giuseppe Proietti said the works will be collected in a "transitional site" in Rome to begin with. When all the items are back, a special exhibition will be set up to show them off to the public.
The accord with the Californian museum resolves a long and bitter dispute over the antiquities, with Italy initially demanding the return of 49 and the Getty offering to hand back no more than 26.
Talks on the disputed artefacts hit a crisis point last year when the Italian government threatened to cut ties with the museum unless they were returned.
The deal signed on Tuesday did not involve the most disputed object, a 3rd-century BC bronze athlete dubbed the 'Getty Bronze'. The two sides agreed to postpone a decision until legal proceedings on the case under way in Italy have been completed.
Prosecutors in the north Adriatic town of Pesaro have asked that the statue be seized, arguing that it was smuggled out of Italy illegally. A court must now rule on the case.
Italy and the Getty agreed to bolster their cultural relations through the loaning of important art works, joint exhibitions, research and conservation projects.
Rutelli said he expected to go to the Getty in coming months to discuss details of the planned art swaps.
The deal with the Getty is the third between Italy and major US institutions.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts have agreed to return key parts of their classical collections in return for loans of equivalent value.
