The theft took place during one of the city’s largest annual celebrations. On August 15, Messina hosted the famous la Vara procession, which brought tens of thousands of people into the streets. At around 9:50 p.m., unidentified individuals broke into the museum.
Their target was the five wooden panels of the San Gregorio Polyptych, created by Antonello da Messina in 1473.
The thieves removed all five panels from the wall, but abandoned two of them during their escape. As a result, three panels were taken from the museum.
In addition, a small double-sided painting kept in a secure display case was stolen. One side depicts the Madonna and Child with a Franciscan Friar, while the other features a Pietà.
The preliminary value of the stolen works is estimated at €70–80 million.
But the financial value is only part of the story.
Antonello da Messina’s paintings are among the works that are virtually impossible to sell legally after being stolen. They are well known to specialists, thoroughly catalogued, and their provenance cannot simply be concealed. Any attempt to place such works on the legitimate art market would almost immediately attract the attention of experts and law enforcement.
At the same time, the museum’s alarm and surveillance systems were reportedly functioning. Investigators are now trying to determine how the thieves managed to carry out the operation so quickly and how they gained access specifically to these works.
Particular attention has also been drawn to the fact that two of the polyptych panels were abandoned during the escape. The thieves may have encountered an unexpected difficulty in transporting the heavy wooden panels.
Several theories are currently being considered, including the possibility that the theft was commissioned. Italian authorities are also investigating a potential connection to organized crime.
And this raises the main question:
Why steal a work of art that is virtually impossible to sell?
Unlike jewellery or other objects whose value can be converted into money relatively quickly, a famous painting exists simultaneously as a material object and as a unique historical document. It cannot simply be hidden away and presented as an unknown work.
You can steal a masterpiece.
But can you really possess it?
The theft at the museum in Messina once again raises questions about what truly constitutes the value of a work of art — its market price, its uniqueness, its history, or the possibility of owning it.
And who, in reality, can afford to steal a painting worth €80 million?
