Rare Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum
Four rare Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Messina, Sicily, during a national holiday. Thieves bypassed security systems to take the works, which include panels from the famous Polittico di San Gregorio.
Why it matters
The theft of significant cultural heritage items represents a major loss for art history and highlights vulnerabilities in museum security during public holidays.
The five surviving panels of da Messina’s Polittico di San Gregorio – three of which were stolen on Saturday. The five surviving panels of da Messina’s Polittico di San Gregorio – three of which were stolen on Saturday. Art Rare Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina stolen from Sicilian museum Four works were taken during public holiday, the day after Italian police recovered paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse
Prefer the Guardian on Google Four of the most important works of art by the 15th-century Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen during a national holiday from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina.
Thieves gained access to the regional museum of Messina , or MuMe, on Saturday evening, possibly capitalising on attention being focused on La Vara, a huge religious festival that takes place in the city on 15 August, when Italy marks the ferragosto national holiday.
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