{"id":7004,"date":"2026-08-16T21:36:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-16T21:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7004"},"modified":"2026-08-16T21:36:22","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T21:36:22","slug":"thieves-steal-4-renaissance-artworks-in-a-sicilian-museum-heist-during-an-italian-holiday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7004","title":{"rendered":"Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in a Sicilian museum heist during an Italian holiday"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By COLLEEN BARRY<\/p>\n

MILAN (AP) \u2014 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. <\/p>\n

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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 Piet\u00e0, which was removed from an armored display case, the news agency LaPresse reported.<\/p>\n

They removed all five panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych from their frame, but abandoned two behind a wall while fleeing. <\/p>\n

Art expert Alberto Fiz estimated the value of the stolen works at 70 million euros ($81 million) to 80 million euros ($92 million). <\/p>\n

\u201cWe are devastated by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina\u2019s most important and best-known works. It is a tremendous loss for the museum, the city, the community and the art world,\u201d MuMe director Marisa Mercurio told the ANSA news agency. <\/p>\n

Mercurio said the theft occurred just before 10 p.m., and that the alarms were working and the guards were on site. She described the works as central to the region\u2019s heritage. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are not merely works by Antonello da Messina,\u201d she told Sky TG24. \u201cThey are works that hold considerable significance in terms of our identity, as well as, of course, their artistic and cultural value, because they are works by our very own Antonello da Messina.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Messina\u2019s top culture official, Enzo Caruso, called the theft \u201cmore than a loss\u201d and \u201ca disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cMessina without Antonello is deprived of the very essence of the greatest artist of the European Renaissance,\u201d Caruso told Sky, calling for the swift recovery of the stolen works. <\/p>\n

Caruso noted that international interest in the artist had intensified since Italy\u2019s Culture Ministry acquired Antonello\u2019s devotional painting \u201cEcce Homo\u201d for $14.9 million through negotiations with Sotheby\u2019s in New York earlier this year. <\/p>\n

Lynda Albertson, an art-crime analyst, said the works are instantly recognizable, impeding any effort to sell them through reputable channels. <\/p>\n

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\u201cStealing an Antonello may be far easier than selling one. If these are ordinary thieves, they will soon discover that \u2014 to their cost,\u201d Albertson, who is the chief executive of the ARCA art crimes research association, told the Italian daily La Repubblica. She said such famous artworks often pass from one criminal to another, serving as collateral for other illicit activity.<\/p>\n

The museum was closed Sunday while investigators gathered evidence. Neither museum officials nor the Carabinieri could immediately be reached for comment. <\/p>\n

The Ferragosto holiday, which marks the feast of the Assumption of Mary, marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season, and was being celebrated in Messina with a procession that culminated in prayers and a blessing in the main Piazza Duomo around the time of the heist.<\/p>\n

The theft comes just days after police in the northern Italian city of Parma announced that they had recovered three stolen artworks by Renoir, C\u00e9zanne and Matisse worth about 10 million euros ($11.5 million). Five people have been detained in the March 22-23 theft from the Magnani Rocca Foundation located in the Parma province.<\/p>\n

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