Police in Italy are hunting a gang of masked thieves who executed a lightning-fast raid on the Magnani Rocca Foundation, stealing masterpieces by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse, per bbc.com. The heist, which took place near Parma on March 22, saw the criminals make off with three world-renowned paintings in just 180 seconds.
The four-man gang forced entry through the main door of the Villa dei Capolavori before targeting the first-floor French Room. The stolen works include Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s Les Poissons, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries, and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace. Experts estimate the combined value of the haul at approximately €9 million, with the Renoir alone accounting for two-thirds of that figure.
According to regional broadcaster TGR, the theft was only halted when the museum’s sophisticated alarm system triggered, forcing the “structured and organised” group to flee over a perimeter fence. This intervention likely prevented the loss of further treasures from the prestigious private collection.
The Cézanne is noted for its rarity as a late-career watercolour, while the Matisse, painted in 1922, is a significant example of the artist’s celebrated “Odalisque” series. The investigation is currently being spearheaded by the Carabinieri and the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Bologna. This brazen robbery follows a similar high-profile raid at the Louvre in Paris last October, raising fresh concerns regarding security at Europe’s leading cultural institutions.
•Featured image: Les Poissons by Pierre-Auguste Renoir/Google/bbc.com
