Italian authorities announced on Friday the successful recovery of three valuable paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. These artworks were stolen from a museum near Parma in March. The Carabinieri officers found the stolen pieces in an apartment in Parma and have launched an investigation involving nine Moldovan nationals linked to the theft.
The paintings, namely 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 during the night of March 22-23. The estimated value of these artworks exceeds €9 million ($14.4 million).
Security footage released by the police shows two masked burglars swiftly entering through a window, removing the paintings from the wall, and fleeing the scene within three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is renowned for its private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring masterpieces by artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.
This recovery marks a significant achievement in the retrieval of stolen cultural treasures, underscoring the ongoing efforts to protect and preserve invaluable artworks worldwide.