Four works by Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina were stolen from the Messina Regional Museum in Sicily on Saturday night. Among the pieces are three paintings of the famous Polyptic of St Gregory and a work with the Virgin and Christ in Pietà.
© Italy, Sicily, Messina, Regional Museum, inv. 548.
16/08/2026
by
Quatro works of art of the Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina were stolen from the MuMe – Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina, Sicily, in northeastern Italy, during Saturday night.
According to the Italian news agency ANSAThree of the five paintings included the famous Polyptic of St Gregory and a small painting with the Virgin and Christ in Pietà were stolen, which was taken directly from the inside of an armored window.
To carry out the robbery, the thieves entered the exhibition rooms, bypassing the alarm systems and security measures of the museum, which has several surveillance cameras and a “sophisticated alarm system”, as well as night surveillance. The crime will have occurred around 9:50 p.m. locations (20:50 in Lisbon).
The Italian authorities are now looking at several hypotheses, including the possibility that the works were stolen by order for the black art market. According to ANSA, investigators believe the suspects may have acted at the request of some art dealer.
In addition, investigations are also being carried out to determine whether the alarm system was working properly.
In a statement, MuMe’s director Marisa Mercurio said that the theft of the pieces of art “is a great loss for the museum, for the city, for the community and for the art world”.
“ We're appalled by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina's most important and well-known works. It is a great loss for the museum, for the city, for the community and for the world of art ", declared.
“ Unfortunately, they managed to bypass the alarm systems and all security systems,” he added.
The mayor of Messina, Federico Basile, expressed “deep concern and dismay” for the theft. “Antonello is Messina and Messina is also Antonello”, he said.
“ I am deeply outraged by the theft of four works by Antonello of the Regional Museum. I am even more indignant because this robbery was committed precisely as the city celebrated the Vara, at the end of a day lived with serenity, marked by pain by the victims of Pistunina and by the deeper sense of our identity ", declared.
For the mayor, who described the theft as “an extremely serious criminal act”, “a heritage belonging to all the inhabitants of Messina has been reached”.
The Italian Minister of Culture, Alessandro Giuli, in turn, also said he received with “consternation and regret” the news of the theft.