Thieves Steal 4 Renaissance Masterpieces from Sicilian Museum

Tehran - BORNA -  Burglars stole four Renaissance masterpieces by Antonello da Messina from the MuMe Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina in Sicily, Italian media and cultural officials reported on Sunday.

The heist occurred around 9:50 PM local time on Saturday during the major Ferragosto holiday. A local news outlet reported that the perpetrators exploited the nationwide distraction surrounding a traditional procession, which had drawn police forces and large crowds to central Messina.

Italian art publication Il Giornale dell’Arte reported that the thieves cut through the metal perimeter fence to enter the museum grounds before forcing open a side door to reach the gallery halls. Once inside, they smashed a glass display case to remove a small, double-sided painted panel dating between 1465 and 1474.

The portable piece depicts the Virgin and Child with a Franciscan Friar on one side, backed by a Pieta. The artwork was acquired by the region of Sicily at a Christie's auction in 2003 following its official attribution to Antonello da Messina.

The thieves also dismantled all five remaining panels of the "San Gregorio Polyptych." Commissioned in 1473 for the Santa Maria monastery, the altarpiece was the painter's only surviving masterpiece remaining in his hometown. The burglars fled with three key sections of the work.

Born in Sicily around 1430, Antonello da Messina is recognized as a master of the early Italian Renaissance. Given the scarcity of his surviving works, his remaining paintings are considered rare cultural treasures.

The theft took place just days after police in the northern Italian city of Parma recovered three stolen paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse valued at approximately $11.5 million.

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