Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in a Sicilian museum heist during an Italian holiday

MILAN (AP) -- Thieves stole four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina worth millions of euros from the regional museum in the city of Messina in Sicily while crowds gathered across town for the traditional Assumption holiday celebrations, cultural officials and Italian media said Sunday. The thi

Holiday museum heist leaves Sicily mourning stolen masterpieces  The Times

Four Renaissance paintings by Antonello da Messina were stolen from his Sicilian hometown on Saturday after surviving earthquakes and centuries of history. Crooks took them while locals celebrated a religious holiday.

Thieves stole four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina worth millions of euros from the regional museum in the city of Messina in Sicily while crowds gathered across town for the traditional Assumption holiday celebrations, cultural officials and Italian media said on Sunday. The thieves bypass

The thieves bypassed alarm and security systems on Saturday evening at the MuMe museum to make off with three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated to 1473.

The thieves stole three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated to 1473, as well as the double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in Pietà.

Art expert Alberto Fiz estimated the value of the stolen works at 70 million euros ($81 million) to 80 million euros ($92 million).

They removed all five panels of the 'San Gregorio Polyptych' from their frame, but abandoned two behind a wall while fleeing. An art expert estimated the stolen works at €70 million to €80 million.

They removed all five panels of the 'San Gregorio Polyptych' from their frame, but abandoned two behind a wall while fleeing. An art expert estimated the stolen works at €70 million to €80 million.

Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks from Sicilian museum during an Italian holiday  CNN

Art experts say the works are instantly recognisable and would be difficult to sell through reputable channels.

Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in a Sicilian museum heist during an Italian holiday  AP News

Four artworks by Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina have been stolen from the Museo Regionale in Messina, Sicily, overnight on August 15. The thieves took three panels from his Polittico di San Gregorio, depriving the city of part of the only surviving works by the painter still held in his hometown. Italian auth

Theft comes just days after police in the city of Parma announced that they had recovered three stolen artworks by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth about 10 million euros

Thieves have stolen four works attributed to Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina from a regional museum in the city of Messina in Sicily

The priceless art was stolen on the Ferragosto holiday, marking the feast of the Assumption of Mary, during the peak of the Italian summer season

Roberto Serra - Iguana Press / Roberto Serra, Getty Images Thieves stole four works by Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina from the MuMe regional museum in Sicily during Ferragosto, a major Italian public holiday. On Saturday evening, just before 10 p.m., they evaded the museum’s alarm and security system

Four Antonello da Messina works stolen in Renaissance painter's hometownFour works attributed to celebrated Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina have been stolen from a regional museum in Messina, Italian media reported Sunday, in a heist carried out during the country’s Ferragosto holiday.The theft took p

Four artworks by 15th century painter Antonello da Messina have been stolen from a museum overnight according to Italy's culture minister.

Four Renaissance paintings have been stolen from an Italian museum during the country's summer national holiday.

Four works were taken during public holiday, the day after Italian police recovered paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse Four of the most important works of art by the 15th-century Renaissance master Antonello da Messina were stolen during a national holiday from a museum in the Sicilian port city of Messina. Thiev

The works were taken overnight without alarms being triggered, raising suspicion of a professional hit.

Thieves stole four works attributed to the Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina from a regional museum in the Sicilian city of Messina on the Italian Ferragosto holiday, the news agency LaPresse reported Sunday.

The thieves bypassed alarm and security systems Saturday evening at the MuMe regional museum to make off with three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated from 1473, as well as the double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and dead Christ in Pietà, which was removed from an armored display

The Italian government in March bought a devotional painting titled “Ecce Homo” by da Messina for $14.9 million.

Thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks in Sicilian museum heist on Italian holiday  Toronto Star

Video showed the thieves sneaking into the Magnani-Rocca Foundation near Parma to steal the works by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse in just 180 seconds.

Three masterworks lifted off the walls of an Italian museum last March have been recovered, and five accused thieves have been arrested. Jonathan Vigliotti reports.