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Local authorities are investigating an overnight heist at an Italian museum after a band of thieves made off with three major French paintings. On March 22, four masked men broke into the Magnani Rocca Foundation and nabbed masterpieces by Henri Matisse, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Paul Cézanne. The break-in, which took roughly three minutes, was publicly disclosed on Monday.
The burglary unfolded in the countryside outside Parma, where the private museum houses a collection assembled by the late art historian Luigi Magnani. Authorities say the thieves forced entry, made their way to a first-floor gallery of French works, and escaped through the surrounding gardens.
The stolen works were Renoir’s Les Poissons, estimated at €6 million (around $6.9 million), as well as Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace and Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries. Together, the paintings are valued at roughly €9 million ($10.3 million), according to the BBC.
In a statement, per the Italian news agency ANSA, the foundation described the operation as “structured and organized.” It also noted that the plan was ultimately “not completed” due to the activation of alarm systems and the swift response of law enforcement. Italy’s Carabinieri, a military police force, is leading the investigation along with the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Bologna.
The incident follows a major break-in at the Louvre back in October. During that robbery, thieves struck in broad daylight, escaping in under eight minutes with jewelry and artifacts reportedly worth around $102 million.
The theft at the Magnani Rocca Foundation presents a different challenge. While stolen jewels can be dismantled and resold, classic paintings are much harder to move. “The pictures stolen only have value if they are kept intact as artworks. They have no financial value if destroyed in the way that the jewelry stolen in Paris would, as gold and gems,” James Ratcliffe, the director of recoveries and general counsel at the Art Loss Register, said in a statement to Artnet. He suggested that the burglars might attempt to extract a ransom or capitalize on a reward for information leading to recovery.
Christopher Marinello, a lawyer and art-recovery expert, shared a similar perspective, telling The Guardian, “These works were not stolen for some private underwater collection—the thieves want to monetise them.” He noted that it might be hard to sell the paintings as press coverage of the heist picks up, adding, “The thieves think they’re going to find a buyer that isn’t going to ask any questions.”
But if the museum offers a payoff, the perpetrators “might then call and pretend they know someone who knows where the paintings are,” Marinello said. “The police instruct the museum to get in contact with them if it has any contact from anyone, and they take the next step, which can sometimes lead to a sting operation.”
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