A stunning theft has struck the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina, where on the evening of Ferragosto four precious works attributed to Antonello da Messina were stolen. The thieves reportedly managed to enter the exhibition halls bypassing the security and alarm systems.
The haul includes three of the five panels from the celebrated San Gregorio Polyptych and a double-sided tablet depicting the Madonna and the Pietà. The latter is believed to have been removed and carried off directly from a reinforced display case.
Police officers and forensic specialists were dispatched to the scene, working to reconstruct how the museum’s protections were breached and to identify any traces left behind by the perpetrators.
The Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation. Investigators are also reviewing footage from the numerous surveillance cameras installed throughout the facility on Viale della Libertà, which is normally also monitored by a private security service.
Among the theories being examined is that of a theft commissioned for the international black market in artworks. “We are shocked, these were among the museum’s most important works,” said the museum’s director.
