Carabinieri recover $10m Cezanne, Renoir and Matisse works in Parma raid
Italian authorities have retrieved three major artworks valued at over $10 million from an apartment in Parma, ending a months-long investigation into a swift burglary that targeted the Fondazione Magnani Rocca.
The Carabinieri and its cultural heritage protection unit confirmed the recovery of the paintings by Paul Cezanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse on Friday. The works were retrieved from an apartment in Parma, marking the conclusion of a probe into a theft that occurred in late March.
Parma police chief Andrea Pagliaro told the AFP news agency that nine Moldovan nationals are currently being investigated in connection with the incident. Authorities have identified five of these individuals as those suspected of carrying out the physical burglary.
The artworks, which are more than a century old, were stolen from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum near the northern city of Parma. Police released video footage of the heist, which took place on 22 March and lasted less than three minutes.
The footage shows two masked burglars entering the museum through a window, removing the paintings from the wall and handing them to an accomplice waiting outside. An alarm was triggered during the robbery. Investigators suspect an organised gang was responsible for the theft.
In a separate development, authorities in Brazil announced the recovery of artworks by Henri Matisse on Thursday. Estimated to be worth around $200,000, these pieces were found at a property in Sao Bernardo do Campo, where a man was arrested. The Matisse works had been stolen from a library in December.
