Antonello da Messina works worth EUR 80 million stolen from Sicily museum

Milan,UPDATED: Aug 16, 2026 22:10 IST

Thieves have stolen four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina, worth millions of euros, from the regional museum in Messina in Sicily, according to cultural officials and Italian media. The theft took place on Saturday evening at the MuMe museum while crowds were gathered elsewhere in the city for Ferragosto, the Assumption holiday celebrations.

According to reports, the thieves got past the alarm and security systems and took three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated to 1473, along with a double-sided panel showing the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in Piet. The Piet panel was removed from an armoured display case, news agency LaPresse reported.

The thieves removed all five panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych from their frame, but left two behind a wall while fleeing. Art expert Alberto Fiz estimated the value of the stolen works at 70 million euros to 80 million euros.

MuMe director Marisa Mercurio said the theft took place just before 10 pm and that the alarms were working and guards were on site. "We are devastated by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina's most important and best-known works. It is a tremendous loss for the museum, the city, the community and the art world," she told ANSA. She said the works were central to the region's heritage.

"These are not merely works by Antonello da Messina," Mercurio told Sky TG24. "They are works that hold considerable significance in terms of our identity, as well as, of course, their artistic and cultural value, because they are works by our very own Antonello da Messina." 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, as he called for the stolen works to be recovered quickly. He also said international interest in the artist had grown after Italy's Culture Ministry acquired Antonello's devotional painting Ecce Homo for USD 14.9 million through negotiations with Sotheby's in New York earlier this year.

Lynda Albertson, an art-crime analyst and chief executive of the ARCA art crimes research association, said the works were instantly recognisable, making it difficult 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 the Italian daily La Repubblica. She said such famous artworks often pass from one criminal to another and are used as collateral for other illicit activity.

The museum was closed on Sunday as investigators collected evidence, and neither museum officials nor the Carabinieri could immediately be reached for comment. Ferragosto, which marks the feast of the Assumption of Mary and the height of the Italian summer holiday season, was being celebrated in Messina with a procession ending in prayers and a blessing in the main Piazza Duomo around the time of the heist. The theft came days after police in Parma said they had recovered three stolen artworks by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth about 10 million euros, with five people detained in that March 22-23 theft. Overall, the Messina theft has left the museum, local officials and investigators dealing with the loss of four works seen as central to the city's artistic heritage.

With PTI Inputs

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