Plaques honoring Rome's deported Jews reported stolen

ROME (AP) — Rome's mayor has denounced the apparent theft of 20 small bronze plaques honoring the members of a Jewish family deported during the Holocaust.

The plaques, affixed to the cobblestones in front of the Di Consiglio family home in the Monti neighborhood, were apparently taken overnight. A gaping hole was all that remained Monday.

Italian news agency ANSA said the organization responsible for the plaques, "Arte in Memory," reported the discovery. In July, the same group reported receiving a threatening letter featuring a photo of Adolf Hitler.

In a tweet, Mayor Virginia Raggi condemned the plaques' theft as unacceptable: "Memory requires respect."

Rome's historic center houses the Jewish ghetto, near Monti, and its cobblestoned streets are dotted with the plaques in front of homes of Jews who were killed or deported.