Four Renaissance paintings of significant value were stolen from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina in Sicily on Saturday night, according to Italy's Minister of Culture Alessandro Giuli. The stolen works include three panels from the Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided panel depicting the Madonna with Child and Christ in Pietà, both attributed to the 15th-century Sicilian master Antonello da Messina.
Authorities are investigating how the perpetrators managed to enter the museum and remove the artworks without triggering the security alarms. Initial suspicions point towards the paintings being stolen to order for the black market, as reported by the Italian news agency Ansa. The Madonna and Christ in Pietà panel, which had previously been exhibited at the British Museum in 2016, was reportedly removed from within a secure display case. All the stolen artworks were on wooden panels, which are not easily rolled for concealment.
The theft is believed to have occurred around 9:50 p.m. local time on Saturday. Museum director Marisa Mercurio expressed shock at the incident, calling it "a great loss for the museum, for the city, the community and the art world."
Antonello da Messina, born and raised in Sicily, was a prominent painter of the early Renaissance. The San Gregorio Polyptych, painted in 1473, originally comprised five panels depicting the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus Christ, flanked by Saint Gregory and Saint Benedict, along with several angels. The commission was originally created for the monastery of Santa Maria.