Four Renaissance masterpieces attributed to Antonello da Messina were stolen from Sicily’s Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina during a midnight raid.
The theft, which took place at approximately 21:50 local time (19:50 GMT) on Saturday, involved three panels from the 1473 San Gregorio Polyptych and a double‑sided panel of the Madonna with Child and Christ in Pietà.
Police are investigating how the perpetrators bypassed the museum’s alarm system and whether the works were taken to order by a black‑market art syndicate.
The June heist follows a surge of high‑profile museum burglaries across Europe, including the recovery of three artworks stolen from a Parma museum earlier this year and the infamous Louvre daylight raid that yielded €88 million in jewellery.
Antonello da Messina, a leading 15th‑century Sicilian painter, created the San Gregorio Polyptych in 1473. The piece, which features the Virgin Mary holding infant Jesus flanked by St. Gregory and St. Benedict, survives today as five separate panels.
Marisa Mercurio, director of the database museum, described the theft as “a great loss for the community and the art world.” She confirmed that the paintings were removed directly from secure display cases, a testament to the culprits’ knowledge of museum layouts.
Messina’s mayor, Federico Basile, called the incident “heinous” and vowed that the city would not let its history be stolen. He emphasized the cultural importance of the works and the duty to protect them for future generations.
With the theft of such significant works, security protocols across European museums are under scrutiny, raising questions about the adequacy of current protective measures.
