(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 13 - A 27-year-old Italian man has been detained in Nepal for allegedly taking protected archaeological relics away from their place of origin, foreign ministry sources said Monday, confirming press reports.
    The man, named as Tiziano Ronchi, is a lecturer in visual arts at Brescia's Accademia Santa Giulia.
    The foreign ministry sources said Nepal's law protecting cultural and religious relics are particularly strict.
    The allegations centre on a wooden fragment that was allegedly taken during a visit to a temple in the city of Bhaktapur.
    Ronchi's defence is that he had taken the pieces away to observe them and then return them to their place of origin. He was detained last week and is currently in hospital due to problems linked to pre-existing conditions.
    The foreign ministry is following the case via the Italian consulate in Calcutta, the sources said.
    Photo: a police officer in Nepal. (ANSA).