The Spanish government’s seizure of a Picasso painting from billionaire banker Jaime BotÃn’s yacht in the Mediterranean earlier this year has led to a fierce battle over ownership of the work, and raised important questions of what a government may do to preserve national treasures.  “The Picasso case raises the question of whether a state can deny an export at no cost,†says lawyer Guiseppe Calabi, who is currently involved in a similar case in Italy. “To declare a work an item of cultural interest destroys the market value.â€
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