Four 'extraordinary' Renaissance paintings stolen from Italian museum
Summary
Four Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina were stolen from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina in Sicily on Saturday night. Police are investigating how the thieves entered the museum without triggering alarms and suspect the paintings were taken for the black market.Key Facts
- The stolen artworks include three panels of the Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided panel of the Madonna with Child and Christ in Pietà.
- All the stolen paintings were on wooden panels, meaning they could not easily be rolled or hidden.
- The theft likely happened around 21:50 local time (19:50 GMT) on Saturday.
- The museum director said the theft is a major loss for the museum, city, community, and art world.
- Antonello da Messina was a 15th-century Sicilian painter and an early master of the Renaissance.
- The stolen Polyptych of San Gregorio was painted in 1473 and shows religious figures including the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus.
- The theft follows recent high-profile art thefts in Europe, including stolen artworks from Italy’s Parma museum and the Louvre robbery in Paris.
- The mayor of Messina expressed outrage and vowed to protect the city’s cultural heritage.
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