Three famous paintings worth millions have been stolen from a museum in northern Italy.
Police said works by French artists Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Henri Matisse and Paul Cézanne were taken in an operation that took less than three minutes.
Thieves target Magnani-Rocca Foundation villa in the south of the city ParmaNight of 22 March.
According to sources close to the investigation, the masterpieces stolen included Renoir’s Les Poissons, Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries and Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace.
One investigator said the trio were worth “tens of millions of euros”.
However, Italian public broadcaster Rai reported that the stolen works were worth €9m (£7.8m).
There has been no official confirmation on the combined value of the paintings.
These paintings were in the Sala dei Francesi on the first floor of what was called the Villa of Masterpieces – the Room of the French.
The thieves, wearing balaclavas, forced their way in by opening a door and were described as an “organised group”.
They became alarmed by the museum’s alarm system and escaped before they could take more paintings, “which was their intention”.
Investigators are assessing museum security footage.
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The Magnani-Rocca Foundation is a private museum located in the heart of the countryside, 12 miles from Parma.
Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and also includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet.
It comes after a series of high-profile robberies at major European museums, in which thieves stole jewels and other items last October. It cost £76 million from the Louvre In Paris.
