{
  "id": 1271425,
  "title": "'It was almost out of a movie': Antonello da Messina artworks stolen from museum in hometown in Italy",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/16/it-was-almost-out-of-a-movie-antonello-da-messina-artworks-stolen",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-16T13:13:43.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "CBC News",
    "slug": "cbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/italy-museum-art-theft-9.7308997"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "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.\n\nThe 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.\n\nThe 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.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}