Custodians facing disciplinary action after Renaissance artworks nabbed in Sicilian museum heist

Disciplinary proceedings are expected against several custodians who were present during a theft at the Museo Regionale di Messina (MuMe), in which four works attributed to the 15th-century Italian Renaissance painter Antonello da Messina were stolen. 

The proceedings against the four custodians are expected to take place once the Sicilian Regional Department for Cultural Heritage receives a report from the museum’s director, Marisa Mercurio, the Italian ANSA news agency reported on Tuesday.

According to the report, the most severe sanction possible is dismissal. Authorities suspect that the theft was an inside job.

The theft took place on Saturday during the La Vara procession, which celebrates the Feast of the Assumption. The feast is a religious observance that honors the Catholic belief that the Virgin Mary was taken directly to Heaven at the end of her life, without her body decaying on earth.

During the holy day, the thieves stole a five-panel altarpiece known as the Polittico di San Gregorio from the MuMe, according to reports. The five-panel altarpiece is the only work by Antonello da Messina to have never left his hometown.

As they fled the scene, the thieves abandoned two of the five panels, which passersby later discovered.

The thieves made off with three of the five panels, as well as a separate double-sided panel depicting the Virgin Mary with the Christ Child and a Franciscan monk on one side and Christ on the other.

“We are shocked by what happened. They were two of Antonello da Messina’s most important and best-known works. It is a tremendous loss for the museum, the city, the community, and the art world,” Mercurio previously told the ANSA news agency.

“A great loss for the museum, for the city, the community, and the art world,” Mercurio said about the theft.

“Law enforcement is investigating, and we hope they can arrest those responsible. The theft occurred yesterday around 9:50 PM. Unfortunately, they managed to bypass the alarm systems and all the security features,” the museum director continued.

The value of the stolen works is estimated at $81 million to $92 million (70 million to 80 million euros), according to art expert Alberto Fiz.

“These are not merely works by Antonello da Messina. They are works that hold considerable significance in terms of our identity,” Mercurio told Sky News about the stolen artwork.

Likewise, upon hearing news of the heist, Alessandro Giuli, Italy’s minister of culture, said in a statement that he was left with a sense of “dismay and regret.” He described the stolen works as being of “extraordinary value for our cultural heritage.”

As Artforum reported this week, surveillance footage of the heist shows the art thieves inside the museum for less than three minutes. The thieves triggered the MuMe’s security systems by smashing glass display cases.

After the thieves stole the artwork, they were spotted by local passersby who initially reported the robbery, Artforum noted. The outlet said a local passerby made the report, not museum staff.

As for what the thieves will do with the stolen artwork, Lynda Albertson, an art-crime analyst, told the Italian daily La Repubblica that famous works typically pass from one criminal to another and serve as collateral for other illicit activity.

Albertson, who serves as chief executive of the ARCA art crimes research association, also said the stolen works are too recognizable, which should impede any plans the thieves may have to sell them.

“Stealing an Antonello may be far easier than selling one. If these are ordinary thieves, they will soon discover that — to their cost,” the art-crime analyst said.