The works are worth some $100 million, investigative sources said. The paintings are The Beach At Scheveningen During A Storm (1882) and Congregation Leaving The Reformed Church of Neunen (1884-1885).
Some of the gang who stole the Van Goghs and other paintings were arrested a year later but the haul was never found. Assets worth tens of millions of euros were seized from the Camorra group. Premier Matteo Renzi congratulated Italian police on the operation and spoke about the paintings' recovery with Dutch Premier Mark Rutte as they both attended the funeral Friday of Israeli statesman Shimon Peres.
Italian Culture Minister Dario Franceschini called the recovery of the paintings a "confirmation of the strength of the Italian system in the fight against illegal art trafficking".
"The outcome of this investigation confirms how interested criminal organisations are in works of art that are used both as a form of investment as well as a form of financing," Franceschini said.
He praised the work of the Naples prosecutor's office and finance police who conducted the probe.
In a press conference in Naples on Friday, anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Colangelo said the authenticity of the paintings has been confirmed both by outside experts as well as those of Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum, who were also present.
Authorities were led to recover the stolen paintings through information provided by one of the suspects in the investigation into the Amato-Pagano clan's drug trafficking activities.
The paintings, which had been kept hidden in a Camorra member's home in the town of Castellamare di Stabia, were unveiled at the press conference by the director of the Van Gogh Museum, Axel Ruger.
"We're incredibly happy, thanks to Italian law enforcement that made the recovery possible," Ruger said.
The city government in Castellamare di Stabia released a statement Friday thanking law enforcement for their efforts.
"We remain confident that the work of dismantling the Camorra clans that besmirch the good name of our city will continue, incessant and non-stop," it said. (Ansa)