Movie-Style Museum Heist In Italy Leaves Four Renaissance Artworks Missing

Four Renaissance artworks by Sicilian master Antonello da Messina, valued at up to €80 million ($93 million), were stolen from the MuMe Regional Museum in Messina, Sicily, during Italy’s Ferragosto holiday, according to cultural officials and Italian media. The theft took place on Saturday evening as the city celebrated the Assumption holiday.

The stolen works included three panels from the 1473 San Gregorio Polyptych and a double-sided painting depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ. Authorities are reviewing the gallery to assess the full extent of the cultural loss.

What Was Stolen From The Italian Museum?

Four works attributed to Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina, three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated to 1473, as well as the double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and the dead Christ in Pietà, which was removed from an armored display case, were stolen by thieves, AP reported, citing local media.

How Did The Thieves Carry Out The Heist?

The perpetrators moved unseen. A group of three or four thieves breached security around 9:50 pm on August 15 by bending outer fence bars, forcing a side door and breaking an armored display case, Al Jazeera reported.

Ferragosto is celebrated annually on August 15. The national holiday traditionally sees Italian cities empty out as residents head to the coast, leaving public institutions vulnerable to targeted property crimes. The hunt is on.

The Comando Carabinieri Tutela Patrimonio Culturale (Art Squad) took over the investigation and secured the crime scene. Investigators suspect the theft was commissioned and have established tight ferry checkpoints across the Strait of Messina.

Investigators have placed border crossings on high alert to prevent the works from leaving Italy, though as of August 17, there is no official confirmation that the pieces have been logged into Interpol's Stolen Works of Art Database.

Louvre-Style Heist

Local Culture Councillor Enzo Caruso told outlet Il Tirreno: “Nobody in Messina could have imagined a real movie-style heist like at the Louvre,” as quoted by Al Jazeera.

A French publication has revealed the security lapses had been plaguing the Louvre Museum for years. One such lapse included that the museum's internal systems once used “LOUVRE” as a password, exposing glaring security lapses that went unaddressed for years.

According to French daily Libération, a 2014 audit by France’s National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (Anssi) found that experts could easily access the museum’s surveillance servers using weak passwords like “LOUVRE” and “THALES”, revealing severe vulnerabilities in its alarm, video, and access control networks.

Despite repeated warnings from Anssi to upgrade outdated systems such as Windows 2000 and strengthen cybersecurity measures, many flaws persisted. A 2017 follow-up report again flagged untrained staff, malfunctioning security equipment, obsolete software, and exposed rooftops during renovations.