The German state of Bavaria plans to return to Italy more than 500 historical books stolen from a library in Naples, authorities said on Wednesday.

The value of the 543 books, including works by Galileo Galilei, Nicolaus Copernicus and Johannes Kepler, is estimated at 2.5 million euros (2.8 million dollars).

The books were confiscated by authorities in May 2012 after they were put on auction in Munich. Bavarian authorities will hand over the 16th- and 17th-century books to Italy on Friday.

The books are believed to have been stolen from the Girolamini library in Naples – one of Italy’s oldest and richest – between June 2011 and April 2012.

The library’s former director, Marino Massimo de Caro, was arrested in 2012 and sentenced a year later to seven years in prison for the embezzlement of about 2,000 volumes.

Some of the stolen books ended up in the hands of Marcello Dell’Utri, a close aide of former premier Silvio Berlusconi and well-known bibliophile. He was jailed last year for collusion with the Sicilian Mafia, Cosa Nostra.

GNA