Four works attributed to Renaissance master Antonello da Messina have been stolen from a museum in his hometown of Messina, Sicily, in a major art theft that has shocked Italy's cultural community.
The works were taken from the MuMe regional museum on Saturday evening, August 15, during Ferragosto, one of the busiest periods of Italy's summer holiday season. The thieves managed to get past the museum's security measures and escaped with three panels from the 1473 San Gregorio Polyptych and a small double-sided painting depicting the Virgin Mary and Christ in the Pietà.
