thieves steal 4 Renaissance artworks worth millions in sicilian museum robbery

KUALA LUMPUR, 17 AUGUST 2026 —

Thieves stole four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina worth millions of euros from the regional museum in Messina, Sicily, while crowds gathered for the Assumption holiday, cultural officials said on Sunday.

The five panels of the Polyptych were taken from their frame, but two were left behind a wall as the thieves fled.

Art expert Alberto Fiz estimated the value of the stolen works at €70 million to €80 million (US$81 million to US$92 million). “We are devastated by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina’s most important and best‑known works,” MuMe director Marisa Mercurio told ANSA. She added that the theft occurred just before 10 pm and described the pieces as central to the region’s heritage.

“These are not merely works by Antonello da Messina,” she said to Sky TG24, “they are works that hold considerable significance in terms of our identity, as well as, of course, their artistic and cultural value.”

Messina’s top culture official, Enzo Caruso, called the theft “more than a loss” and “a disaster”. “Messina without Antonello is deprived of the very essence of the greatest artist of the European Renaissance,” Caruso told Sky, urging a swift recovery. He noted that international interest in the artist had risen after Italy’s Culture Ministry bought Antonello’s devotional painting “Ecce Homo” for US$14.9 million from Sotheby’s in New York earlier this year.

Lynda Albertson, chief executive of the ARCA art‑crimes research association, said the works are instantly recognisable, impeding any attempt to sell them through reputable channels. “Stealing an Antonello may be far easier than selling one. If these are ordinary thieves, they will soon discover that – to their cost,” she told La Repubblica. Albertson added that famous pieces often pass from one criminal to another, serving as collateral for other illicit activity.

The museum was closed on Sunday while investigators gathered evidence. Neither museum officials nor the Carabinieri could be reached for comment. The Ferragosto holiday, marking the feast of the Assumption of Mary, was being celebrated in Messina with a procession that culminated in prayers and a blessing in the main Piazza Duomo around the time of the robbery.

The theft comes just days after police in Parma recovered three stolen artworks by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth about €10 million (US$11.5 million). Five people were detained in the March 22‑23 theft from the Magnani Rocca Foundation in the Parma province.