Messina mystery: theft of Renaissance art from Sicilian museum leaves investigators baffled

How did thieves pull off robbery of Antonello da Messina’s 15th-century masterpiece – and why did they leave part of it behind?

A t about 8.47pm on the evening of 15 August, while tens of thousands of worshippers filled the streets of central Messina for a religious festival, at least two men cut through the fencing surrounding the regional museum, located a few miles to the north on the outskirts of the Sicilian harbour city.

Capitalising on the fact that the streets around the museum were unusually quiet, the men forced open a side door with a crowbar, gaining direct access to a display case containing the five surviving panels of the Renaissance master Antonello da Messina’s polyptych Polittico di San Gregorio , his most important work, and a small double-sided painting. Undisturbed, they removed the works from the building and fled.

The heist – one of a series of high-profile thefts from European institutions in recent years – has left investigators baffled. Investigative authorities have said very little on the record, but sources speaking anonymously to the Guardian and local media, as well as art historians who know the building intimately, say lots of elements don’t add up, except one: the date chosen by the thieves.

“I f there is one day out of the 365 in the year that a thief would choose to carry out a robbery in Messina, it would be 15 August, the day of the Vara procession,” said an investigator close to the inquiry. Founded in 1535, the religious event takes place in Messina on 15 August, the day of Italy’s national Ferragosto public holiday. At its centre is a 14-metre pyramidal float depicting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. More than 150,000 people pack into the city centre, hundreds of police are deployed, and major roads and squares are closed.

“The city’s outskirts are almost deserted that day,” said Lelio Bonaccorso, a graphic novelist, illustrator and Messina-based art expert who has collaborated with the regional museum. “Those who stay home are mostly elderly people, for whom the August heat and huge crowds can pose a health risk.”

According to investigative sources speaking to local media, two masked men entered the museum wearing motorcycle helmets, possibly aided by two accomplices who remained outside as lookouts.

The exact point of entry into the museum’s grounds remains under investigation, but one line of inquiry is that the thieves came in via an adjacent apartment block.

After cutting through the fence, the thieves are believed to have headed straight for a side door, one of the few entrances that, according to investigative sources, was not fitted with an alarm system.

“This is where one of the first mysteries emerges,” said Valentina Certo, an art historian affiliated with the University of Messina. “CCTV shows the raid lasted just two to three minutes. How did the thieves remove all five panels so quickly, and know the door was not alarmed?”

Investigators suspect the thieves may have had inside help.