Vatican returns Parthenon sculptures to Greece

The Vatican has returned three fragments of the Parthenon sculptures to Greece in a move that has been described as a "gesture of friendship".

The decision to return the 2,500-year-old marbles was announced by Pope Francis last year.

One is a chunk of a horses head, the other a bearded man and the third a head of a boy.

Greece hopes the move will spur other overseas institutions that hold Parthenon sculptures to return them.

About 50% of the Parthenon's original sculptures have survived and almost half of them are in the British Museum. read more