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The theft, that includes three panels of the 15th century San Gregorio Polyptych, occurred late Saturday at a museum in Messina, the religious painter's hometown.
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A man looks over Antonello Da Messina's '' Madonna col Bambino e un francescano in adorazione" at the opening of the exhibit at the Scuderie del Quirinale in Rome, March 17, 2005. Photo by AFP |
The theft comes just months after the Italian state bought a work called "Ecce Homo" by Antonello da Messina at a New York auction in New York for nearly US$15 million.
Messina mayor Federico Basile called the theft "deeply reprehensible", saying it was "even more painful" as it took place during traditional city celebrations in honour of the Virgin Mary.
Art thefts are frequent in Italy. Italian police two days ago said they had recovered three paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth over nine million euros ($10.4 million) that had been stolen from a museum near Parma in northern Italy in March, allegedly by a gang of Moldovans.
