Thieves stole four works attributed to the Sicilian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina from a regional museum in the Sicilian city of Messina on the Italian Ferragosto holiday, the news agency LaPresse reported on Sunday (August 16, 2026).

The thieves bypassed alarm and security systems on Saturday (August 16, 2026) evening at the MuMe regional museum to make off with three of the five surviving panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, dated from 1473, as well as the double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary and dead Christ in Pietà, which was removed from an armoured display case, LaPresse reported.

“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,” MuMe director Marisa Mercurio told the ANSA news agency. She said the theft occurred just before 10 p.m.

The Italian government in March bought a devotional painting titled “Ecce Homo” by da Messina for $14.9 million from Sotheby’s auction house in New York, raising the profile of the early Renaissance painter.

Lynda Albertson, an art-crime analyst, said the works are instantly recognisable, impeding any effort to sell them 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, who is the chief executive of the ARCA art crimes research association, told the Italian daily La Repubblica. She said such famous artworks often pass from one criminal to another, serving as collateral for other illicit activity.

The museum was closed Sunday (August 16, 2026) while investigators gathered evidence. Neither museum officials nor the Carabinieri could immediately be reached for comment.

The Ferragosto holiday, which marks the feast of the Assumption of Mary, marks the height of the Italian summer holiday season.

The theft comes just days after police in the northern Italian city of Parma announced that they had recovered three stolen artworks by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth about $11.5 million. Five people have been detained in the March 22-23 theft from the Magnani Rocca Foundation located in the Parma province.

Italian authorities recovered three artworks by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions of euros that were stolen earlier this year from a private museum near the northern city of Parma, police said on Friday (August 14, 2026).

A statement from the Italian Carabinieri’s art recovery squad said the artworks were discovered during searches ordered by prosecutors, but no details were given. The investigation is ongoing.

The three recovered artworks are “Fish,” a painting by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries,” a pencil and watercolour by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace,” a colour aquatint by Henri Matisse. Authorities said the Cézanne was valued at €6 million ($7 million), the Renoir at €3 million ($3.5 million), and the Matisse at €20,000 ($23,000).

The heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation, about 20 km from Parma, took place on the night of March 22-23, 2026 with thieves forcing open the entrance door, police said.

Local media reported that the thieves took the paintings in less than three minutes and escaped across the museum gardens.

Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.

The museum believes a structured and organised gang was responsible for the theft, which the alarm interrupted, local media reported.

The crime followed a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including the theft in October of French crown jewels and other items valued at €88 million euros ($101 million) from the Louvre in Paris.