Italian police recover €29 million Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse stolen in March
Three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth €29 million were found after a probe into a rapid March burglary at the Magnani-Rocca Foundation villa near Parma.
Italian police announced the recovery of three masterpieces by Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne and Henri Matisse valued at €29 million that were stolen from a museum in March.
The paintings had been taken from the villa of the Magnani-Rocca Foundation near Parma in northern Italy during a robbery that lasted under three minutes.
Rapid heist and a focused investigation
Andrea Pallaro, head of Parma police, said investigators concentrated on a nine-member gang suspected to be from Moldova. Five of those suspects are accused of carrying out the theft, he added.
Police footage released by investigators shows two masked thieves wearing headlamps entering the villa after smashing a window. The pair moved straight to the room where the three works were displayed, removed them from the wall and handed them through the broken window to an accomplice waiting outside.
The stolen works were identified as "Fish" by Auguste Renoir, "Still Life with Cherries" by Paul Cézanne and "Odalisque on the Terrace" by Henri Matisse. Authorities did not disclose where the recovered paintings were held while inquiries continue.
Prosecutors and police in Parma are continuing the investigation to determine the gang’s wider network, possible buyers and the exact sequence of events around the March burglary.
Photo: AP
