Thieves steal Renaissance works from Sicilian museum during holiday

A journalist browses the website of the Museum of Messina, which displays an image of the work of early Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina, where three of the five panels belonging to the Polyptych of Saint Gregory and the double-sided panel with the Madonna and Christ in the Pietà, stolen from the Sicilian museum on August 15. — Photo: Gregorio Borgia/AP

Thieves stole four works attributed to Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina from a regional museum in the city of Messina, Sicily, during the Ferragosto holiday in Italy. The information was released this Sunday (16) by the LaPresse news agency.

The criminals managed to circumvent the MuMe Regional Museum's alarm and security systems on Saturday night (15).

According to LaPresse, they took three of the five remaining panels from the Polyptych of Saint Gregory, dated 1473. Also stolen was a two-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in the Pietà work. The piece was in an armored display case.

"We are devastated by what happened. They were two of the most important and well-known works by Antonello da Messina. It is a huge loss for the museum, the city, the community and the art world," Marisa Mercurio, director of MuMe, told ANSA.

According to her, the robbery occurred shortly before 10 pm.

In March, the Italian government purchased a religious painting by Antonello da Messina, titled Ecce Homo, for US$14.9 million. The work was acquired at a Sotheby's auction in New York, which increased attention on the early Renaissance painter.

Lynda Albertson, an analyst specializing in crimes against works of art, said that the stolen pieces are easily recognizable. This makes it difficult to try to sell them through legitimate channels.

"Stealing an Antonello can be much easier than selling one," Albertson told Italian newspaper La Repubblica.

She is executive director of the Art Crime Research Association (ARCA).

According to the expert, famous works often pass from one criminal to another and can be used as collateral in other illicit activities.

The museum remained closed Sunday while investigators collected evidence.

Representatives from the museum and the Carabinieri, the Italian military police, could not immediately be reached for comment.

Ferragosto is one of the main holidays of the Italian summer and marks the celebration of the Assumption of Mary. The date also coincides with the height of the holiday season in the country.

The theft occurred just days after police in Parma, northern Italy, announced the recovery of three stolen works of art by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse. The pieces are valued at around 10 million euros (US$11.5 million).

Five people were arrested for the robbery, which occurred between March 22 and 23 at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, in the province of Parma.