{"id":855169,"date":"2026-08-14T16:58:15","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T16:58:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/855169\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T16:58:15","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T16:58:15","slug":"italian-police-recover-art-worth-millions-stolen-in-three-minute-museum-heist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/855169\/","title":{"rendered":"Italian police recover art worth millions stolen in three minute museum heist"},"content":{"rendered":"

Three century-old paintings believed to have been stolen by an organised gang have been recovered, months after the criminals broke into an Italian museum in a three-minute heist.<\/p>\n

The fine artworks are the 1919 impressionist painting Fish by Auguste Renoir, Paul C\u00e9zanne’s 1887 Still Life with Cherries, and the 1922 Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse.<\/p>\n

Authorities said the C\u00e9zanne was valued at six million euros ($9.79 million), the Renoir at three million euros ($4.89 million), and the Matisse at 20,000 euros ($32,665).<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Fish by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. (Reuters: Supplied\/Fondazione Magnani Rocca)<\/p>\n

Italy’s Carabinieri, the domestic police force, and its cultural heritage protection unit confirmed in a statement on Friday, local time, the paintings were discovered during searched ordered by prosecutors.<\/p>\n

The police did not provide details of the searches, but said investigations into the heist were ongoing.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Cup And Plate Of Cherries by Paul Cezanne. (Reuters: Supplied\/Fondazione Magnani Rocca)<\/p>\n

How Italy’s three-minute art museum heist unfolded<\/p>\n

The heist at the Italy’s Magnani Rocca Foundation, located about 20 kilometres south of Parma in the country’s north, took place on the night of March 22, according to police.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse. (Reuters: Supplied\/Fondazione Magnani Rocca)<\/p>\n

Authorities at the time said they believed the masked thieves forced open an entrance door, while local media reported they managed to take the paintings in less than three minutes before escaping across the museum’s gardens.<\/p>\n

In the days after the heist, Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper reported the thieves entered the museum’s grounds via an unlit, country access road after sawing three bars off a back gate.<\/p>\n

They then forced the building’s front door open with a crowbar and accessed the museum’s French Room on the upper floor by breaking down its doors, the outlet said.<\/p>\n

\"Two<\/p>\n

CCTV from inside the museum shows the masked thieves removing the works of art from the walls of an upper floor room. (Reuters: Supplied\/Carabineiri Parma)<\/p>\n

The newspaper said an interior alarm startled the group, who then fled and were believed to have lost a fourth painting \u2014 the three million euro ($4.9 million) Paysage de Cagnes also by Renoir \u2014 during their escape.<\/p>\n

Carabinieri officers and private security contractors who arrived at the museum later said they spotted the group on thermal imaging cameras while inside the building, but were unable to stop them fleeing.<\/p>\n

The Magnani Rocca Foundation was established by art historian Luigi Mangini in 1977, aimed at promoting cultural activities around art, music and literature.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The security vision also shows the thieves running through an open foyer area to escape through a window. (Supplied: Carabineiri Parma)<\/p>\n

The foundation hosts Mr Mangini’s collection of art and also includes works by D\u00fcrer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.<\/p>\n

Apart from its showcased art, the building is known for its spacious gardens, often roamed by a muster of white peacocks.<\/p>\n

Mr Mangini lived in the greenhouse on the villa’s grounds until his death in 1984.<\/p>\n

Experts stunned by theft of ‘recognisable’ art<\/p>\n

During its investigation of the heist, the Carabinieri’s RIS forensic agency and the force’s dedicated art recovery squad analysed CCTV footage from the villa on the night of the theft.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Magnani Rocca Foundation museum villa is renowned for its spacious gardens and white peacocks. (Instagram: Francesca Fietta\/magnanirocca)<\/p>\n

La Repubblica reported in April that authorities believed the gang consisted of up to five people, who police were trying to “height match” as part of identikit efforts.<\/p>\n

One source told Reuters they had been surprised at the thieves’ choice of works of relatively low value from the museum’s permanent collections.<\/p>\n

The \u2060lack of commercial insurance in Italy for paintings like those that were stolen is not uncommon, market sources say.<\/p>\n

Art historian Silvia Evangelisti told La Repubblica the heist was “a very strange theft”.<\/p>\n

“These works are so recognisable that it’s impossible to imagine the market they could be sold on,” she said.<\/p>\n

“They could have stolen older works, which Luigi Magnani’s precious and refined collection is full of.<\/p>\n

“Perhaps they were disturbed by their location on the first floor; they were in a hurry to act so they could escape more quickly.”<\/p>\n

Italian art expert Claudio Strinati echoed that sentiment.<\/p>\n

“Renoir’s painting \u2014 for example \u2014 is very beautiful but, within the context of the foundation as a whole, it isn’t among the most important works,” he told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

Simone dall’Orto, the mayor of the Traversetolo commune to the south-east of the museum, said the thievery had “dismayed” local residents.<\/p>\n

“It affects not only an artistic heritage of extraordinary value, but the very identity of our community,” he said.<\/p>\n

The crime also followed a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including the stunning theft in October of French crown jewels and other items worth 88 million euros ($143.7 million) from the Louvre in Paris.<\/p>\n

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