€9 Million Art Heist: Masterpieces by Renoir, Cézanne, Matisse Stolen in Italy Museum Robbery
Paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse worth millions were stolen in a swift heist at the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma, police said.
Four masked men entered the villa of the foundation in northern Italy and made off with the artworks on the night of 22 March, a police spokesperson said, confirming a report on the Rai television network.
Italian media reports said the gang carried out the operation in just three minutes and were only interrupted by the museum's alarm system, which prevented them from stealing more.
The stolen works include Fish by Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Cézanne and Odalisque on the Terrace by Matisse, according to Italian media reports.
The paintings have an estimated total value of €9m (£7.8m), the BBC reported.
The institution is the latest to be subject to a heist, following the brazen daylight robbery of priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris last October.
How did the thieves execute the Magnani Rocca Foundation art heist near Parma?
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The thieves forced their way through the main door of the Villa dei Capolavori, located in the Parma countryside, and took the paintings from the French Room on the building's first floor, Italian media reports said.
Police are examining the museum’s video surveillance footage and that of neighbouring businesses, a spokesperson said.
The foundation said the gang appeared "structured and organised", and seemed to have intended on stealing more were it not for the private collection's alarms going off and police being called.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation, located 20km from Parma, houses the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani.
The collection also includes works by Albrecht Dürer, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Francisco Goya and Claude Monet. The foundation was established in 1977.
The criminals escaped by climbing over a fence, according to regional public broadcaster TGR, which first reported the theft.