Italy: Thieves steal key Renaissance paintings in Sicily
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.
On Saturday evening in Messina, Sicily, thieves broke into the Regional Museum of Messina, bypassing security systems, and stole several artworks by Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina. The robbery occurred as the city celebrated Ferragosto, the Catholic Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Three of the five surviving panels from Antonello's 1473 San Gregorio Polyptych were taken, along with a smaller, double-sided panel.
Museum Director Marisa Mercurio expressed deep devastation over the loss of these important works, stating they are of immense cultural, artistic, and symbolic value not only to Messina but to Sicily as a whole. The financial loss is estimated between €70-€80 million, though Antonello's market value increased in March when the Italian state agreed to purchase another one of his paintings for $14.9 million.
The stolen pieces were part of an altarpiece installed at Monastero San Gregorio until it was destroyed in the 1908 earthquake that killed nearly 60% of Messina's population. The stolen works belonged to an altarpiece that was the only by Antonello never to have left Messina.
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