Matone, a Lega deputy, gave the ring to chamber ushers, who passed it to the security chief for safekeeping in a safe. She estimated its value at no less than 30,000 euros.
A woman who is not a deputy proved ownership at the Montecitorio offices a few hours after the find, and the ring was returned to her. Her identity has not been published.
Simonetta Matone, a Lega deputy who spent her career as a magistrate, found a ring in the women's bathroom at the Chamber of Deputies, in Rome's Montecitorio palace. She noticed it shortly before a parliamentary sitting ended, on a shelf near the Gallery of Presidents, and at first did not register what it was. Speaking to ANSA by phone, she described a gold ring with a square diamond at the centre and two side stones, set on a white gold base. She put its value at no less than 30,000 euros. Several Italian outlets published her account on 22 October.
Matone said she drew up a record of the find and gave the ring to the chamber's ushers, who called the security chief. That official took custody of the ring and placed it in a safe. Before handing it over, she asked female colleagues whether any of them had lost a ring, and none answered. Matone told Open that the bathroom is also used by guests who arrive through the Gallery of Presidents, so the owner did not have to be a member of parliament. Colleagues reportedly joked that she should have kept the ring, and she told Open that honest people still exist. Asked why she had handed it in, she told ANSA it was a normal thing for her to do.
“What surprises me is the surprise at this gesture. It is a normal thing, I was a magistrate my whole life, perhaps that makes the difference.”
A woman who is not a member of the Italian parliament went to the Montecitorio offices a few hours later and proved the ring was hers. Parliamentary staff then returned it to her. According to La Razón, Matone had asked for a written record of the handover and taken a photograph of the ring, so that whoever claimed it could prove ownership. Her identity has not been made public. The mystery therefore lasted only a few hours, according to Open.
La Stampa reported the value only as Matone's estimate and noted that its reporters had doubted it, suggesting the piece could be costume jewellery. The paper also cited an AI tool, which said the stones could be zircon and that the ring would be worth about 50 euros as costume jewellery, or several thousand euros if it were 18-carat gold with diamonds. No authentication of the stones has been reported. In 2022, during the votes to elect the president of the Republic, Five Star senator Cinzia Leone posted on social media that her coat had gone missing. Suspicion circulated online for several days, but staff found the coat inside the Chamber about a week later. Other reports say phones, necklaces, headphones, tablets and gold pens have been left in both chambers over the years, often on benches, in toilets or in common areas.
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The ring was claimed a few hours later by a woman who is not a member of parliament, and her identity has not been made public. Staff returned it after she proved ownership at the Montecitorio offices.
AI text based on reports by lastampa.it, Mediafax.ro, Open and other publishers. Published .