Four artworks by 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina have been stolen overnight from the Museo Regionale di Messina, Italy's culture minister said on Sunday, expressing confidence in the police inquiry.
The theft deprives Messina of parts of the only surviving work by the Renaissance painter to have remained in his native city, as well as a small painting acquired by the Sicilian Region two decades ago.
"I've learnt of the theft with shock and sadness," Culture Minister Alessandro Giuli said in a statement.
The thieves entered the museum on the night of 15 August, a national holiday in Italy, Italian media said.
A museum official reached by Reuters said they could not provide any information.
"It was almost out of a movie," said Enzo Caruso, a local councillor in charge of culture, according to the Corriere della Sera website.
Caruso said the purchase of an Antonello da Messina artwork by the Italian state for $15 million earlier this year may have put the Messina museum on the criminals' radar.
The thieves took three of five remaining panels that made up an altarpiece known as Polittico di San Gregorio.
Originally comprising six panels and destined for a local monastery that was destroyed by Messina's 1908 earthquake, the altarpiece was the only work by the Sicilian painter never to have left his hometown.
The thieves took a fourth artwork from a secure display case: a small two-sided painting depicting the Virgin with Child and a Franciscan monk on one side and Christ on the other.
The work was part of the Wilhelm Soldan collection and was sold by Christie's to the Sicilian Region in 2003, the year it was attributed to Antonello da Messina.
In February, Italy's culture ministry bought another two-sided painting, known as Ecce Homo, from Sotheby's just before it was to be sold at auction.
Born around 1430, Antonello da Messina trained in Naples, where he studied the works of Provençal and Flemish artists, whose influence is apparent in his works.
He returned to Messina in 1457, where he worked until 1474.
The Messina theft took place after Italian police on Friday recovered three paintings by French masters Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse that were stolen from a museum near the northern city of Parma in March.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and e...
Afghan and Russian businesses signed 15 trade agreements worth $103 million in Kabul on Thursday during a visit by Russian Deputy Prime Minister Al...
Rising demand for air cargo and expanding international aviation networks are opening up new trade opportunities for Central Asia and the South Cau...
UN Secretary-General António Guterres delivered a stark warning at this year's COP31 summit, saying the climate crisis iss advancing faster than governments' efforts to contain it.
European leaders gathered in Dublin on Thursday, 12 November, for the ninth European Political Community (EPC) summit, with security, defence and energy high on the agenda. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev held talks focused on peace, trade and regional cooperation.
Here's your AnewZ Daily Brief for 11 November. Today, we cover Russia-Ukraine peace talks, political tensions in Washington, strikes in Spain, espionage allegations involving Nvidia's CEO, and climate negotiations at COP31 in Türkiye.
Iran will not let a single particle of its enriched nuclear material leave the country, and any new U.S. attack would be met with strikes on distant American bases, Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei has said.
Four million workers across Spain joined a general strike on Wednesday over the country’s deepening housing crisis, unions said, bringing disruption to factories, ports, shops and public transport just weeks before a snap general election.
At just 25, Azerbaijani actor Eldar Isgandarov is making his mark on the international film scene, with roles in three A24-linked projects and appearances at major film festivals. His rising profile is also shining a spotlight on his Azerbaijani roots.
Turkmenistan has secured its first entry in UNESCO’s Memory of the World Asia-Pacific Regional Register, following the approval of a historical collection documenting the life and work of Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn Adham.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art has announced that its 2027 Costume Institute exhibition and Met Gala will explore how designers transform everyday clothing and ordinary materials into works of art.
Australia has returned two ancient stone statue heads to China, more than 30 years after they were taken from imperial tombs in central China.
Uzbekistan is launching a new fashion academy in Tashkent to help local clothing manufacturers build their own brands, sharpen design skills and compete in international markets.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment