Intruders broke into the Magnani Rocca Foundation villa and took works by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse.
Four masked thieves stole several valuable paintings from an Italian museum earlier this month, local authorities said.
According to Italian media, the collection includes Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s ‘Fish’, Henri Matisse’s ‘Odalisque on the Terrace’ and Paul Cézanne’s ‘Still Life with Cherries’, which are estimated to be worth around $10 million.
On Monday, Italian police said intruders forced their way into a Magnani Rocca Foundation villa near Parma on the night of March 22. Museum representatives told local outlets that the robbery lasted less than three minutes and appeared to be highly coordinated.
Investigators believe the group entered the grounds through a back gate and then opened the entrance with a crowbar, and fled shortly before officers arrived on the scene.
The brazen raid adds to a series of high-profile art thefts across Europe, highlighting the persistent vulnerabilities of museums.
Last October, the Louvre Museum in neighboring France became the victim of a daring jewelery robbery. Four masked men armed with chainsaws broke into the prestigious Paris museum and used a crane to reach the second floor. Two of them forced their way into the Apollo Gallery, where they broke a display case and fled with jewelry reportedly worth $100 million. This theft instantly made it a nickname “Robbery of the Century” In local media.
French police arrested four suspects by the end of November, although the stolen jewelry has not yet been recovered.
After the incident, Louvre director Laurence des Cars resigned, citing his decision as wrong. “An act of responsibility.”
Speaking to France Inter on Monday, newly appointed Culture Minister Catherine Pégarde said plans for a major renovation of the museum would be revised to place greater emphasis on security.
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