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 near Parma in March. The Carabinieri officers, part of Italy’s cultural heritage protection unit, discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma. Nine individuals from Moldova are now under investigation in connection with the theft.
The stolen paintings, with an estimated value exceeding €9 million ($14.4 million), were taken from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo near Parma on the night of March 22-23. The recovered pieces include Cezanne’s “Tasse et Plat de Cerises,” Renoir’s “Les Poissons,” and Matisse’s “Odalisque sur la Terrasse.”
Authorities released a video of the theft, depicting two masked burglars entering through a window, swiftly removing the paintings from the wall, and making a quick exit in under three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca showcases a private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by prominent artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.
