A robbery that is just like the movies! They stole 26 hours in 60 seconds: 'Worth 150 thousand euros'

Venaria Reale Palace, near Turin, Italy, was the scene of an extraordinary robbery targeting historical artifacts.

Masked thieves broke into one of the magnificent buildings of the House of Savoy and escaped by stealing 26 antique clocks that had been preserved for centuries in just 60 seconds. The robbery, which took place despite the alarm system being activated and the security service active, also brought the protection measures in the palace into question.

According to the information quoted by Bosslar Dünyası from the Italian press, the incident took place on the night between Sunday, October 18th and Monday, October 19th. It took about a minute in total for the robbers, who targeted historical watches worth approximately 150 thousand euros, to enter the building, take the artifacts and escape.

According to the news of the Italian art publication Artribune, the masked group consisting of at least three people took action after 02:00 at night. The thieves entered the building by forcing the side door of the cafe called Caffè degli Specchi inside the palace.

Reaching the palace, the group headed directly to the section where historical clocks were exhibited. The robbers smashed the shatter-resistant glass display case protecting the works to reach the collection in the reception hall of the Duke of Savoy. He then took 26 antique watches and fled the scene.

The fact that the robbery was completed in such a short time raised the question of how the thieves bypassed the palace's security system.

One of the most striking details of the robbery was that historical artifacts were stolen even though the security systems were activated. The Savoy Royal Residences Consortium, to which the Venaria Reale Palace is affiliated, reported that the alarm system was working at the time of the incident and security equipment was checked regularly.

It was stated that the armed security service of the palace was provided by the Italian company Allsystems. Despite this, the alarm system, security guards and shatter-resistant display case could not prevent thieves from targeting the collection and making off with the artifacts.

Authorities are investigating how the robbery could be carried out in such a short time even though the security systems were active.

It was reported that the stolen works consisted of 26 historical pieces produced in England and France in the 1700s. While the majority of the watches in the collection were pocket watches, works that stood out with their gold and enamel workmanship were among the valuable collections of the palace.

The watches, valued at approximately 150 thousand euros, were exhibited on the visit route on the upper floor of the palace. The reception hall of the Duke of Savoy, where the works were located, was right after the Grand Gallery designed by the famous architect Filippo Juvarra.

Italian media also reported that the stolen historical artifacts were insured. However, being insured does not eliminate the loss caused by the loss of pieces that stand out with their historical and cultural values.