The Museu del Falso is an Italian museum dedicated to displaying a different kind of art: fakes. The museum was started in 1991 as an outlet for art forgeries captured by the police.
The museum was founded as part of the University of Salerno's Center for the Study of Forgery. An agreement was reached in 2003 between the museum and the Carabinieri, Italy's military police, that allows the museum to get its artwork for the purposes of education at a very good price: free.
The police force, in cooperation with the Department for the Protection of Cultural Heritage, make up the largest anti-fraud group in the world. They currently operate in 11 Italian cities with 280 agents.
Offbeat News | Art | Museums