Four Renaissance paintings of significant value were stolen from a museum in Sicily, Italy, late Saturday. The Italy’s Ministry of Culture revealed that these artworks, attributed to 15th-century artist Antonello da Messina, were taken from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina.
The stolen items included three panels from the San Gregorio Polyptych and a double-sided panel of The Madonna and Child. The polyptych originally consisted of at least five sections and suffered damage during an earthquake in 1908. The painting of The Madonna and Child had previously sold for over $300,000 in 2003, according to Christie’s auction site.
The Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, expressed his dismay and regret over the theft, emphasizing the artworks’ exceptional value to cultural heritage. Messina’s mayor, Federico Basile, condemned the crime as “heinous” and was particularly outraged that it occurred during the city’s festivities in honor of the Virgin Mary.
We hope that those responsible will be identified and that our artworks will be returned home. Messina will not let its history be stolen.– Federico Basile, Mayor of Messina
This theft happened a few months after the Italian state acquired a work called “Ecce Homo” by the same artist, Antonello da Messina, at a New York auction for nearly $15 million.
Leave a Reply