Four masked thieves executed a lightning-fast art heist in the Italian countryside, making off with millions of euros worth of masterpieces by renowned painters Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse.
Occurring on March 22 at the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma, the highly organized gang forced entry through the main doors of the Villa dei Capolavori. The criminals immediately targeted the estate's French Room located on the first floor, executing the entire robbery in just three minutes.
According to Italian media and regional broadcaster TGR, the haul is valued at an estimated €9 million (£7.8 million). The crown jewel of the stolen collection is Renoir's circa-1917 oil painting Les Poissons, which alone is estimated to be worth €6 million.
The thieves also grabbed Cézanne's Still Life with Cherries (circa 1890), a particularly rare piece as it was painted using watercolors—a medium the post-Impressionist only adopted late in his life. The third stolen masterpiece, Matisse's 1922 Odalisque on the Terrace, depicts two figures, with one reclining in the sun while the other holds a violin.
Museum officials noted the crew appeared highly structured and likely intended to pillage even more art. Fortunately, the private collection's blaring security alarms cut the raid short, forcing the culprits to flee by scaling a perimeter fence before authorities could arrive.
Italy's Carabinieri and the specialized Cultural Heritage Protection Unit in Bologna are currently hunting for the suspects, having kept the details of the theft under wraps until they were announced to the public on Sunday.
The targeted Magnani Rocca Foundation, established in 1984 in the former family home of the late composer and art collector Luigi Magnani, is the latest casualty in a string of high-profile European art crimes. The incident closely follows a brazen daylight jewelry heist that shocked the Louvre in Paris last October.