Michelangelo's Last Piet

One by one, the sculptures Michelangelo carved for his Renaissance patrons found their way into public galleries, until only a single work remained in private hands: the Piet`a Rondanini, an unfinished sculpture of the dead Christ and Virgin Mary on which the master was working when he died in 1564. It was owned by Italy's wealthy Sanseverino family and kept in their villa near Rome. Then, three years ago, the word flashed through art circles that the Sanseverinos were inviting offers (TIME, March 6, 1950).

Last week the Piet`a was moved to Rome's Borghese Gallery for a month's exhibit before being handed over to its new owners: Milan's city fathers, who plan to show their prized Piet`a in a special room of the city's Castello Sforzesco museum. The bargain price: 135 million lira (about $216,000). The Italian government had discouraged private buyers by ruling that the Piet`a could not leave the country, and by reminding that any sale to new private owners inside Italy would fee subject to a 90% tax.

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