In Sicily, Italy, four 15th-century paintings of ‘exceptional value’ to the country’s cultural heritage were stolen from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina on the evening of 15 August.
According to the Italian Ministry of Culture, three panels from the Saint Gregory polyptych and a double-sided panel depicting the ‘Madonna and Child’ have gone missing from the museum. All the works are attributed to the renowned Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina.
The St Gregory polyptych originally consisted of at least five parts. The painting was damaged during the powerful earthquake of 1908.
Another stolen work — the ‘Madonna and Child’ — was sold at a Christie’s auction in 2003 for over 300,000 dollars.
Italy’s Minister for Culture, Alessandro Giuli, expressed his “shock and regret” at the theft. He emphasised that the stolen works are “of extraordinary value to our cultural heritage”.
The mayor of Messina, Federico Basile, described the theft as a “horrific criminal act”. He said he was particularly outraged that the crime had taken place during the city’s traditional celebrations in honour of the Virgin Mary.
“We hope that those responsible will be identified and that our works of art will return home. Messina will not allow its history to be stolen,” the mayor wrote on social media.
Law enforcement agencies are investigating the theft and establishing the circumstances of the crime.
The theft took place just a few months after the Italian state acquired another work by Antonello da Messina – ‘Ecce Homo’ – at an auction in New York. The painting was purchased for nearly 15 million dollars.