'It was almost out of a movie': Antonello da Messina artworks stolen from museum in hometown in Italy
Three panels from Polittico di San Gregorio altarpiece and a separate painting depicting the Virgin with Child were taken from the Museo Regionale di Messina in the 15th-century painter's hometown.
Three paintings have been stolen from the Museo Regionale di Messina in Sicily, Italy. The stolen works include three panels from the Polittico di San Gregorio altarpiece and a separate painting depicting the Virgin with Child, all attributed to 15th-century painter Antonello da Messina.
The polyptych, a painting divided into multiple panels, originally had at least five sections but was damaged in an earthquake in 1908. According to CBS News, the painting of The Madonna and Child sold for over $300,000 in 2003.
The theft has been condemned by local authorities, with the mayor of Messina, Federico Basile, calling it a "heinous criminal act" and expressing hope that the artworks will be returned home.
Brief written by urgent.news from CBC News, CBS News — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
