Four Antonello da Messina Paintings Stolen From Sicilian Museum
Four works by Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina, including three surviving altarpiece panels, were stolen from a Sicilian museum on August 15.
In short
- Four works by Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina, including three surviving altarpiece panels, were stolen from a Sicilian museum on August 15.
Four paintings by the Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina were stolen from the Regional Museum of Messina in Sicily on Saturday evening, August 15, 2026, during Italy’s Ferragosto public holiday.
The thieves bypassed alarm systems and broke into secured displays, according to the museum account reported on Sunday. Three of the stolen wood panels belonged to the five surviving sections of the Polittico di San Gregorio, an altarpiece originally made for a Messina monastery that was destroyed in the 1908 earthquake.
A smaller, double-sided work showing the Virgin and Child with a Franciscan monk on one face and Christ on the other was also taken. Sicily’s regional government acquired that painting in 2003, the same year it was attributed to Antonello.
The theft occurred while Messina was holding La Vara, a major religious festival. Authorities have not publicly identified suspects. Antonello, born around 1430, is regarded as one of Sicily’s most important painters, known for combining Italian Renaissance traditions with techniques associated with northern European art.
