Italian authorities announced on Friday that police successfully retrieved three valuable paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, which were stolen from a museum close to Parma in March. The Carabinieri officers discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma, leading to the investigation of nine Moldovan individuals in connection to the theft.
The stolen paintings, including Cezanne’s “Tasse et Plat de Cerises,” Renoir’s “Les Poissons,” and Matisse’s “Odalisque sur la Terrasse,” were taken from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo. The estimated value of the recovered artworks exceeded €9 million ($14.4 million), as confirmed by art experts.
In a swift operation captured on video, two masked burglars entered the museum through a window, swiftly removed the three paintings from the wall, and swiftly exited the premises in less than three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is renowned for housing a private collection amassed by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, which includes masterpieces by artists like Titian, Francisco Goya, and Claude Monet, among others.
The successful recovery of these stolen artworks marks a significant achievement for Italian authorities in combating art theft and preserving cultural heritage.