Unknown thieves broke into a museum in the Italian city of Messina and stole four Renaissance-era wooden panel paintings before escaping without being caught.
Foreign news agencies reported on Sunday, 16 Aug 2026 GMT+7, that four Renaissance paintings of "immense value" were stolen from the Messina Regional Multidisciplinary Museum on Sicily Island, Italy, at approximately 21:50 local time on the previous Saturday night.
The stolen paintings were works by Antonello da Messina, a prominent early Renaissance artist. The missing pieces include three panels from the 1473 Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided panel titled Madonna with Child and Christ in Pietà, which was taken from a display case with direct security protection.
All the paintings were on wooden panels that cannot be easily rolled up. Police are urgently investigating how the thieves bypassed the alarm system undetected. Initial suspicions point to this being a theft ordered by the black market.
Alessandro Gulli, Italy's Minister of Culture, confirmed the incident, while Marisa Mercurio, the museum director, expressed deep regret, calling it a significant loss for the museum, the city, and the art world.
Meanwhile, Federico Basile, Mayor of Messina, condemned the crime as an affront to the heritage of all the city's residents.
Notably, this theft occurred just days after Italian police successfully recovered three paintings by Cézanne, Renoir, and Matisse valued at over 9 million euros, stolen from a museum near Parma.
This incident also reflects the security crisis facing European museums, following a daylight heist late last year when thieves stole antique jewels worth more than 88 million euros from the Louvre Museum in Paris, which have yet to be recovered.
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Source:BBC