Mafia Involvement Feared in Heist of Renaissance Paintings in Sicily
Italian authorities said the August 15 theft of four Antonello da Messina paintings from the Regional Museum of Messina in Sicily raised fears of mafia involvement because the burglars bypassed alarms, broke into security cases, and escaped within minutes. Enzo Caruso, Messina’s top culture official, told Reuters the speed suggested inside knowledge, while Sicily’s president Renato Schifani said surveillance and alarms were functioning and guards were present, prompting an internal investigation into possible staff complicity. The thieves took three of the five surviving panels from Antonello’s altarpiece “Polittico di San Gregorio” and a smaller double-sided devotional painting of the Virgin and Child that the Sicilian regional government bought at Christie’s in 2003. The works were valued at €70 million–€80 million (about $81 million–$92 million), and two Antonello paintings were later found apparently abandoned against the museum fence, discovered about two hours after the theft.
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This story was covered in Restitution Stalemates, Biennale Censorship, and Stolen Masterpieces