Italian police recover stolen paintings worth over $10m

What the report says

Italian police say they have recovered three stolen paintings valued at more than $10 million, ending a months-long search after the works disappeared from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum near Parma in northern Italy. The pieces are by Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse, according to Al Jazeera’s report on Friday, citing police and the AFP news agency.

Parma police chief Andrea Pagliaro said nine Moldovans are under investigation in connection with the theft, and five are believed to have taken part in the break-in. Italian Carabinieri and its cultural heritage protection unit said the artworks were found in an apartment in Parma. The robbery took place in late March and, based on police video released later, appeared to last less than three minutes. The footage shows two masked intruders entering through a window, removing the paintings and passing them to a third person outside after an alarm sounded.

The recovered paintings are more than a century old, and police suspect an organised gang was involved. The case highlights the continuing problem of art theft in Europe, where valuable works can be targeted for their market value and cultural importance. In a separate development reported by Al Jazeera, Brazilian authorities also said they had recovered works by Matisse from another theft, underscoring broader international efforts to trace stolen art.