Priceless Renaissance Art Stolen In Italy As Thieves Target Sicily’s Messina Museum

Edited
by:
Kie a
Bu ke

C imi als
have
o ce
agai
ta geted
a
small
egio al
museum
to
steal
p iceless
a two ks
o
public
display,
this
time
i
Messi a,
Sicily.

Local
autho ities
say
obbe s
bypassed
ala m
a d
secu ity
systems
at
the
Regio al
Museum
of
Messi a
(MuMe),
Italy,
a ou d
10:00
p.m.
(2000
GMT)
o
Satu day
eve i g
as
the
city
celeb ated
the
high
poi t
of
its
“Fe agosto”
summe
holiday,
the
Catholic
Feast
of
the
Assumptio
of
the
Blessed
Vi gi
Ma y.

Thieves
we e
able
to
make
off
with
seve al
pa els
pai ted
by
Re aissa ce
a tist
A to ello
da
Messi a,
the
most
impo ta t
a tist
eve
bo
o
the
isla d
of
Sicily.

Th ee
of
the
five
su vivi g
pa els
f om
A to ello’s
1473
“Sa
G ego io
Polyptych”
we e
take
i
the
obbe y
as
well
as
a
smalle ,
double-sided
pa el
locked
i
a
a mo ed
display
case.

“We
a e
devastated
by
what
happe ed.
They
we e
some
of
A to ello
da
Messi a’s
most
impo ta t
a d
best-k ow
wo ks.
It
is
a
t eme dous
loss
fo
the
museum,
the
city,
the
commu ity
a d
the
a t
wo ld,”
MuMe
Di ecto
Ma isa
Me cu io
told
Italy’s
ANSA
ews
age cy.

Messi a
Mayo
Fede ico
Basile
called
the
theft
“deeply
ep ehe sible,”
sayi g
it
was
“eve
mo e
pai ful”
fo
havi g
take
place
as
the
city
celeb ated
the
Assumptio
of
the
Vi gi .

The
museum
emai ed
closed
Su day
as
i vestigato s
sea ched
fo
evide ce.

Wo ks
of
‘e o mous
cultu al,
a tistic
a d
symbolic
impo ta ce’

“It
is
a
ext emely
se ious
a d
sig ifica t
loss,”
said
Me cu io,
“They
have
stole
wo ks
of
e o mous
cultu al,
a tistic
a d
symbolic
impo ta ce,
ot
o ly
fo
Messi a
but
fo
Sicily
as
a
whole.
All
we
ca
do
ow
is
hope
they
a e
ecove ed
as
soo
as
possible.”

Though
the
sum
fi a cial
loss
has
ot
bee
made
public
—
i itial
estimates
a ge
f om
&eu o;70-&eu o;80
millio
($81-$92
millio )
—
A to ello’s
ma ket
value
i c eased
co side ably
i
Ma ch
of
this
yea
whe
the
Italia
state
laid
out
$14.9
millio
(&eu o;13
millio )
fo
the
pu chase
of
a othe
pa el
that
he
pai ted
a ou d
1460.

A
movi g
two-sided
pa el
i
oil
with
a
“Ecce
Homo”
po t ayal
of
Ch ist
( ecto)
a d
“Sai t
Je ome
i
the
Dese t”
(ve so),
the
pu chase
a d
ews
that
the
pai ti g
would
soo
etu
to
Italy
was
g eeted
with
e thusiasm.

Messi a
was
amo g
the
cities
hopi g
to
display
the
ewly
etu ed
wo k.

A to ello
was
bo
a ou d
1430
a d
t ai ed
fi st
i
Naples
befo e
studyi g
P ove cal
a d
Flemish
pai ti g
a d
ultimately
etu i g
to
Messi a
i
1457,
whe e
he
would
wo k
u til
his
death
i
1474.

See
as
a
key
figu e
i
what
was
a
ea ly
example
of
tech ology
t a sfe ,
A to ello
is
la gely
c edited
with
b i gi g
evolutio a y
ew
Flemish
oil
pai ti g
tech iques
to
southe
Eu ope
while
at
the
same
time
sp eadi g
k owledge
of
Italia
pe spective
d awi g
amo g
his
colleagues
o th
of
the
Alps.

The
etu
of
A to ello’s
pai ti g
to
his
hometow ,
we t
the
a gume t,
would
have
huge
symbolic
value
fo
a
city
that
lost
most
of
its
cultu al
he itage,
i cludi g
what
emai ed
of
A to ello’s
life
a d
wo k,
o
Decembe
28,
1908
—
whe
a
ea thquake
flatte ed
Messi a
a d
killed
ea ly
60%
of
its
populatio
i
a
matte
of
seco ds.

What
pai ti gs
we e
stole
i
Sicily?

The
pai ti gs
stole
o
Satu day
belo ged
to
a
alta piece
i stalled
at
Messi a’s
Mo aste o
Sa
G ego io
u til
it
was
dest oyed
i
the
1908
quake.

Refe ed
to
as
the
“Sa
G ego io
Polyptych”
i
its
post-quake
state,
it
co sisted
of
six
tempe a
pai ti gs
o
woode
pa els.

The
five
pieces
i
the
museum
po t ayed
the
“A u ciatio
of
the
Vi gi ”
i
two
uppe
pa els,
a d
the
la ge
“Mado a
of
the
Rosa y
E th o ed”
fla ked
by
full-le gth
po t aits
of
Sai ts
G ego y
a d
Be edict
below.

The
wo ks
we e
the
o ly
by
A to ello
eve
to
have
left
Messi a.

Autho ities
say
the
thieves
left
two
pa els
lea i g
agai st
the
exte io
of
the
museum
despite
havi g
emoved
them
f om
the
wall
a d
gotte
them
outside.

A othe
wo k,
the
small,
two-sided
oil
pai ti g
o
wood
take
f om
the
a mo ed
case,
bo e
the
image
of
Ch ist
o
o e
side
a d
a
F a cisca
mo k
with
the
Vi gi
a d
Child
o
the
othe .

What
will
happe
to
the
pai ti gs
ow?

Satu day’s
obbe y
comes
just
days
afte
Italia
autho ities
a ou ced
the
ecove y
of
th ee
stole
a two ks
by
Auguste
Re oi ,
Paul
Ceza e
a d
He i
Matisse
wo th
about
&eu o;10
millio .

Those
wo ks
we e
stole
f om
a
egio al
museum,
too,
the
Mag a i
Rocca
Fou datio
i
Pa ma,
o
Ma ch
22.

Five
people
—
allegedly
Moldava
ga gste s
—
have
bee
detai ed
i
co ectio
with
the
theft.

Despite
havi g
(ofte
outdated)
ala m
systems,
museums
p ese t
soft
ta gets
fo
c imi als.

B aze
thefts
at
museums
a ou d
the
wo ld
have
highlighted
this
p oblem
—
most
d amatically
i
Pa is,
whe e
ga gste s
stole
p iceless
histo ic
jewels
f om
the
famous
Louv e
i
b oad
daylight
o
Octobe
19,
2025.

Expe ts
say
the
fact
that
stole
a two ks
a e
ofte
i sta tly
ecog izable
makes
them
impossible
to
sell
via
eputable
cha els.
I stead,
such
objects
a e
used
as
collate al
amo g
c ime
bosses.

I
Ge ma y,
membe s
of
Be li ‘s
i famous
Remmo
c ime
family
we e
co victed
a d
put
i
p iso
i
co ectio
with
the
2019
theft
of
histo ic
jewels
f om
the
G ee
Vault
at
D esde ‘s
Royal
Palace.

Most
of
the
jewels
f om
the
heist
we e
ecove ed,
albeit
damaged,
but
the
cost
to
taxpaye s
was
e o mous.
The
jewels
f om
the
Louv e
heist
have
yet
to
be
ecove ed.

Sicily’s
most
famous
a t
theft
happe ed
mo e
tha
half
a
ce tu y
ago,
whe
u k ow
pe pet ato s
b oke
i to
the
chu ch
of
the
O ato io
di
Sa
Lo e zo
i
Pale mo
to
cut
Michela gelo
Me isi
da
Ca avaggio’s
“Nativity
with
Sai t
F a cis
a d
Sai t
Law e ce”
f om
its
f ame
a d
spi it
it
away
i
the
dead
of
ight,
eve
to
be
see
agai ,
afte
havi g
hu g
the e
fo
mo e
tha
th ee
ce tu ies.

Disclaime :
This
epo t
fi st
appea ed
o
Deutsche
Welle,
a d
has
bee
epublished
o
ABP
Live
as
pa t
of
a
special
a a geme t.
Apa t
f om
the
he

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