Italy has agreed to return hundreds of Chinese artifacts in one of the largest repatriations of cultural relics smuggled into the European country, Xinhua reported Sunday.

Painted pottery and figurines dating from the Neolithic era to the Qing dynasty are among the 796 relics being returned to China as part of an agreement signed between the two governments Saturday in Rome. The artifacts had been seized by Italian police in 2007, but it wasn’t until earlier this year that an Italian court decided they should be returned to China.

The agreement was signed during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s two-day state visit to Rome. On Saturday, Italy became the first country from the group of leading industrial nations known as the G-7 to join the Belt and Road Initiative, China’s trillion-dollar international infrastructure project. Beijing and Rome signed 29 deals worth $2.8 billion during Xi’s visit. (Image: @秦枫 on Weibo)