Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in a Sicilian museum heist during an Italian holiday
Four Renaissance artworks by Antonello da Messina were stolen from a museum in Sicily during a public holiday. Authorities estimate the value of the stolen pieces at up to 80 million euros, describing the theft as a major cultural disaster for the region.
Why it matters
The theft represents a significant loss of European cultural heritage and highlights vulnerabilities in museum security systems during high-traffic holiday periods.
MILAN (AP) — Thieves stole four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina worth millions of euros from the regional museum in the city of Messina in Sicily while crowds gathered across town for the traditional Assumption holiday celebrations, cultural officials and Italian media said Sunday.
The thieves bypassed alarm and security systems on Saturday evening at the MuMe museum, making off with three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated to 1473, as well as the double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in Pietà, which was removed from an armored display case, the news agency LaPresse reported.
They removed all five panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych from their frame, but abandoned two behind a wall while fleeing.
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