Sicily Heist: Four Antonello da Messina Masterpieces Stolen

Four Renaissance paintings attributed to Antonello da Messina were stolen from the Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina in Sicily on Saturday night, including three panels from the Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided Madonna with Child and Christ in Pietà on wooden panels; authorities say alarms were not triggered and are probing how the thieves gained entry, with initial suspicions of a professional theft for the black market. The loss is described as extraordinary for the city and the art world, and comes amid a string of European museum heists, including a Parma-area case earlier this year in which Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse works were recovered.