Four Antonello da Messina Paintings Stolen in Sicily Heist, Mafia Link Feared
Thieves took four works by the Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina from a regional museum in Messina, Sicily, on the night of 15 August 2026 — Ferragosto, the Italian public holiday that empties cities and stretches security thin.
At least four people wearing helmets and black shirts entered the Museo Regionale Accascina, known as MuMe, and removed three panels from Antonello's Polittico di San Gregorio, a multi-panel altarpiece. They also took a two-sided tablet — a bifronte, meaning painted on both faces — showing the Madonna and Christ in Pietà. In total, four pieces from two separate works were stolen. The works are valued in the tens of millions of euros, according to ANSA (ANSA).
Antonello da Messina, born in Messina around 1430, is one of the most significant painters of the Italian Renaissance. He is credited with bringing oil-painting techniques from the Netherlands into southern Italian art, and his surviving output is small — making any loss disproportionately felt.
The Messina Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation immediately. By 17 August, ANSA reported that investigators were searching for a basista — an insider accomplice who would have supplied the thieves with knowledge of the museum's layout, alarms and guard routines (ANSA). Security cameras from inside the museum and on nearby streets were being analysed.
Both Reuters and Artnews, reporting on 17 and 18 August respectively, said that investigators fear organised crime — specifically the Sicilian Mafia — may be behind the theft (Reuters; Artnews). Stolen art is sometimes used by criminal networks as collateral in illicit transactions or held for years before resurfacing.
ANSA reported on 18 August that disciplinary action was expected against the museum's custodians (ANSA).
Despite the loss, the Museo Regionale Accascina reopened on 17 August. Black cloths now cover the bases where the stolen paintings once hung. By the following day, around thirty visitors had already passed through the doors — a quiet signal that the museum, at least, is refusing to close.
None of the stolen works has been recovered. No arrests have been announced.
