Italian authorities have successfully retrieved three valuable paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were stolen from a museum close to Parma earlier this year. The Carabinieri officers, part of Italy’s cultural heritage protection unit, discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma, leading to the investigation of nine Moldovan individuals in connection to the theft. The stolen pieces, 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 during the night of March 22-23. Experts valued the paintings at over €9 million ($14.4 million).
A video released by the police depicted the swift theft, with two masked burglars entering through a window, swiftly removing the paintings from the walls, and exiting the building in less than three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is home to a private collection established by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by prominent artists like Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and others.