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See the full story · 10 sourcesThe priceless art was stolen on the Ferragosto holiday, marking the feast of the Assumption of Mary, during the peak of the Italian summer season
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Four works attributed to Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina have been stolen from a museum in Messina, Sicily , during the Italian Ferragosto holiday, news agency LaPresse reported Sunday.
Thieves bypassed security systems Saturday evening at the MuMe regional museum to take three of five surviving panels from the 1473 San Gregorio Polyptych, as well as a double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and dead Christ in Pietà from an armored case, LaPresse said.
MuMe director Marisa Mercurio told news agency ANSA that the theft occurred shortly before 10 p.m.
"We are devastated by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina’s most important and best-known works. It is a tremendous loss for the museum, the city, the community and the art world," she said.
In March, the Italian government raised the painter's profile by purchasing his devotional artwork "Ecce Homo" for $14.9 million from Sotheby's in New York.
Art-crime analyst Lynda Albertson said the recognizable nature of the works hinders any sale through reputable channels.
"Stealing an Antonello may be far easier than selling one. If these are ordinary thieves, they will soon discover that — to their cost," Albertson, chief executive of the ARCA art crimes research association, told Italian paper La Repubblica . She said such famous pieces often serve as collateral among criminals.
The site was closed Sunday for evidence collection. Neither museum staff nor Carabinieri could immediately be reached for comment.
The Ferragosto holiday, marking the feast of the Assumption of Mary, is the peak of the Italian summer season.
The theft comes shortly after Parma police recovered stolen artworks by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth about 10 million euros ($11.5 million). Five people were detained following the March 22-23 heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation in Parma province.
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