A journalist browsed the Messina museum website, which displayed a picture of Early Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina’s artwork. Several pieces by the artist were stolen from this Sicilian museum on August 15, 2026.
The good news came first when, in late March, a gang broke into the Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum near Parma, Italy. They used a tractor to batter down a fence before two masked burglars entered through a window door, grabbing three paintings off the wall. The entire operation was caught on camera and completed in under three minutes. The stolen works included Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries (worth approximately $7 million), Renoir’s Les Poissons (valued at around $3.5 million) and a Matisse aquatint, Odalisque on the Terrace (valued at $23,000).
These thefts marked the latest in a series of high-profile heists affecting museums and galleries across Europe. On Friday, authorities announced the recovery of the stolen paintings during searches ordered by prosecutors. The effort involved the Italian police branch known as the carabinieri, working with a specialist team focused on protecting cultural heritage. Details on the recovery were limited, and the investigation remains ongoing.
The recovery operation was led by the carabinieri alongside experts in cultural heritage protection.
Unfortunately, bad news followed. On a Saturday night during Italy’s holiday known as Ferragosto, thieves struck in the Sicilian city of Messina. Amidst celebrations, they bypassed the Museo Interdisciplinare Regionale’s alarm system and broke into a security case. The thieves stole four wooden panels by Antonello da Messina, a revered Renaissance painter from the city.
Antonello, who was born around 1430 and trained in Naples, was influenced by Provençal and Flemish styles. During the heist, three of the five remaining panels from his altarpiece, Polittico di San Gregorio, were taken. The work originally included six panels, but one was destroyed along with the monastery that housed it during the 1908 Messina earthquake. Additionally, thieves stole a double-sided painting purchased by the Sicilian regional government from Christie’s in 2003.
The theft of Antonello’s work is a significant loss, as his art is highly valued in Italy. Earlier this year, the Italian government spent $14.9 million at a New York auction to repatriate another Antonello piece, Ecce Homo, to Abruzzo.
Further details about the March theft reveal that nine individuals of Moldovan nationality are under investigation. Despite their experience in theft, they lacked knowledge of the art market, hindering their ability to sell the stolen works.
These two incidents underscore a troubling trend of art thefts across Europe. Since January 2025, more than a dozen major art heists have occurred, prompting the International Council of Museums to collaborate with Interpol in response. Notable incidents include an October 2025 raid at the Louvre’s Apollo Gallery, where thieves stole jewels worth over $100 million, leading to the museum director’s resignation. Another example is a January 2025 theft at the Netherlands’ Drents Museum, where a gang used explosives to steal a 2,500-year-old Romanian gold helmet, returned to Romania after 14 months.
Interpol’s database of Stolen Works of Art listed over 57,000 items last year. The agency warns that many stolen artworks may never be recorded in this count.