THIS is the astonishing moment a gang of masked thieves stormed an Italian museum and painting worth £7.7 million in under three minutes.
CCTV shows the brazen raiders creeping into the Magnani Rocca Foundation museum near Parma in the dead of night on March 22.
Footage shows the brazen thieves snatching the £7.6 million paintings Credit: Carabinieri Parma
The gang ripped three paintings from the museum’s “French Room” Credit: Carabinieri Parma
Two masked men can be seen slipping through a window with headlamps blazing as another accomplice waits outside.
In a breathtakingly swift sweep, the gang ripped three paintings from the museum’s “French Room” before passing them through the window.
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Within minutes, the gang had vanished with works by Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse.
But their spectacular haul has now been recovered after police swooped on the Parma home of one of the suspects.
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The three masterpieces were found during searches carried out by the Carabinieri of the Parma Provincial Command and Cultural Heritage Protection Unit.
Investigators believe the paintings had remained at the suspect‘s home ever since the dramatic raid.
Nine people, including women, are now under investigation over the audacious theft and alleged criminal conspiracy.
The suspects are reportedly of Moldovan origin and are believed to be an experienced gang of thieves, although not specialists in art theft.
Police say the spectacular public outcry surrounding the robbery may have made it almost impossible for the gang to offload the highly recognisable masterpieces.
Investigators believe the thieves first sawed through the bars of a perimeter gate before breaking into the museum.
Within minutes, the gang had vanished with works by Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse Credit: AFP
Two masked men can be seen slipping through a window with headlamps Credit: Carabinieri Parma
The gang then made their escape with the three works, completing the entire operation in less than three minutes.
A fourth painting was abandoned inside the museum, apparently after the alarm system was triggered.
Forensic investigators later combed the scene for fingerprints and biological traces, paying particular attention to the abandoned artwork.
The stolen haul was worth more than €9million (£7.8million), with Cezanne’s Still Life with Cherries accounting for a staggering €6million (£5.2million).
The rare pencil and watercolour on paper, measuring 38 by 49cm, was painted around 1890 and depicts a table with a cup and a plate piled with red cherries.
Renoir’s Les Poissons, an Impressionist oil on canvas from 1917, was valued at around €3million (£2.6million).
Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace, a colourful aquatint on vellum measuring 63 by 91cm, was valued at around €20,000 (£17,000).
The theft, which took place between March 22 and 23, was only made public a week later, sending shockwaves through Italy’s art world.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation museum near Parma where the masterpieces were snatched from Credit: Alamy
Cezanne’s Still Life with Cherries accounting for a staggering €6million (£5.2million) Credit: Reuters
Stefano Roffi, scientific director of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, said the recovery had finally brought the collection back together.
He told ANSA.“I was at the Carabinieri until a few minutes ago; I had to identify the works, draw up reports, and do many other things.
“It’s truly a happy day because the Magnani Rocca collection is finally being reunited. This theft had truly left us shocked.”
He said the return of the Cezanne was particularly poignant because the artist had been one of Luigi Magnani’s favourites.
“Our thoughts go to Luigi Magnani , the founder of the Magnani Rocca Foundation, who created this pantheon of art of all time, and Cézanne in particular was his favourite artist along with Giorgio Morandi, so the return of this wonderful watercolour with cherries, which he loved so much, would have made him especially happy,” Roffi added.
The director described the raid as a devastating blow to the collection.
He said: “The Magnani Rocca Foundation houses the largest collection of Impressionist works in Italy, so it was a particularly serious wound.
“Now we hope to be able to celebrate together with the mayor and the community of Traversetolo, because an event like this deserves appropriate celebration.”
Roffi also suggested the gang may have struggled to find a buyer for such conspicuous masterpieces.
He added: “I imagine it may have been difficult to ‘place’ them, as always happens with masterpieces.
“They are certainly not works that can enter a commercial circuit with impunity.”
The investigation remains ongoing.
