Additional Coverage:
- Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in a Sicilian museum heist during an Italian holiday (nbcnews.com)
Four Priceless Renaissance Paintings Stolen from Sicilian Museum During Holiday Festivities
MILAN – In a stunning art heist that has shaken the cultural community, thieves made off with four invaluable works attributed to Renaissance master Antonello da Messina from the regional museum in Messina, Sicily. The theft occurred Saturday evening amid the city’s bustling Assumption Day celebrations, Italian cultural officials and media reported Sunday.
The perpetrators bypassed advanced alarm and security systems at the MuMe museum, stealing three of the five surviving panels from the 1473 San Gregorio Polyptych, as well as a double-sided panel illustrating the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in Pietà. Notably, the Pietà panel was taken from an armored display case, highlighting the brazen nature of the crime.
Although all five panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych were removed from their frame, two were abandoned behind a wall as the thieves fled the scene. Art expert Alberto Fiz estimates the total value of the stolen pieces to be between 70 and 80 million euros (approximately $81 million to $92 million).
“We are devastated by this loss,” said MuMe director Marisa Mercurio. “These are two of Antonello da Messina’s most significant and renowned works.
This theft is a profound loss for the museum, the city, the community, and the entire art world.” Mercurio confirmed that the alarms were functioning and security personnel were present at the time of the theft, underscoring the calculated nature of the crime.
“These artworks represent more than just paintings by Antonello da Messina,” Mercurio added in an interview with Sky TG24. “They embody our regional identity and cultural heritage. Losing them is a blow to our collective history.”
Enzo Caruso, Messina’s chief cultural official, described the theft as “more than a loss – it is a disaster.” Caruso emphasized the artist’s pivotal role in European Renaissance art and called for the urgent recovery of the stolen masterpieces.
Interest in Antonello da Messina has surged recently, following Italy’s Culture Ministry acquisition of the artist’s devotional piece Ecce Homo for $14.9 million through Sotheby’s in New York earlier this year, Caruso noted.
Lynda Albertson, CEO of the ARCA art crimes research association, cautioned that while stealing such famous works might be relatively straightforward, selling them poses significant challenges due to their notoriety. “If these are ordinary thieves, they will soon learn that an Antonello is almost impossible to sell through legitimate channels,” Albertson said. She also suggested that stolen artworks of this caliber often circulate among criminal networks, sometimes used as collateral in illicit transactions.
The MuMe museum remained closed Sunday as authorities collected evidence. At the time of reporting, neither museum representatives nor the Carabinieri had provided further comment.
The theft coincided with Messina’s Ferragosto celebrations, which honor the Assumption of Mary and mark the peak of Italy’s summer holiday season. A religious procession and blessing were taking place in the city’s main Piazza Duomo around the time of the heist.
This incident follows closely on the heels of another significant art recovery in northern Italy. Police in Parma recently announced the retrieval of three stolen works by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse valued at around 10 million euros ($11.5 million). Five suspects have been detained in connection with that March theft from the Magnani Rocca Foundation.
The loss of these Antonello da Messina masterpieces leaves a profound void in Italy’s artistic heritage and highlights the ongoing challenges of protecting invaluable cultural treasures.