Theft at the MuMe museum: works by Antonello da Messina stolen. Schifani: ‘A disgrace; an internal investigation has also been launched’

The museum director: “We are devastated; they were among the most important works”

“We are devastated by what has happened; these were two of Antonello da Messina’s most important and well-known works. It is a great loss for the museum, for the city, the community and the art world,” said Marisa Mercurio, director of the Regional Museum of Messina. “The police are currently investigating, and we hope they will be able to arrest those responsible. The theft took place yesterday at around 9.50 pm. Unfortunately, they managed to bypass the alarm systems and all the security measures.”

‘The alarms and CCTV cameras were working. We were informed by the police that they had recovered two panels. We are devastated and hope to get them back. I arrived straight away and we made this bitter discovery. We hope these works, which are the museum’s calling card, will be recovered.” So said Marisa Mercurio once again. Two of the panels were subsequently recovered from the museum’s outer boundary wall, from where the thieves are believed to have fled.

“The Municipality of Messina expresses its deep concern and dismay at the serious art theft that took place on the evening of 15 August at the Accascina Museum, where unknown individuals gained access to the exhibition rooms and managed to steal four precious works attributed to Antonello da Messina. Three of the five surviving panels from the famous San Gregorio Polyptych were taken, along with the double-sided panel depicting the Madonna and Christ in Piety, the latter having been removed directly from inside a secure display case. The break-in takes on a particularly grave significance given the timing of the incident. The criminals struck at precisely the moment when the traditional Vara Procession, having passed through the streets of the city centre, had just concluded its route in Piazza Duomo. This year’s Vara was deeply marked by respect and grief for the victims of the tragic collapse in Pistunina and for all the lives cut short that have marked the start of this year. The city came together in remembrance of those who have passed away and experienced one of its most defining moments with particular dignity and participation.’ Thus, in a statement, the Messina city council commented on yesterday’s theft at the MuMe.

“What has happened is an extremely serious and deeply reprehensible incident,” says Mayor Federico Basile. “It is even more painful to realise that a criminal act of this gravity was committed at the very moment when the Vara had just completed its procession to Piazza Duomo, at the end of a day which, this year, the city has marked with respect, remembrance and grief for the victims of the Pistunina collapse, for the young lives lost in the road accidents that have marred this year of 2026 and, more generally, for all victims and for those who have lost their lives far too soon. On a day so deeply rooted in our identity and our community, such an act wounds the sensibilities of Messina and its people even more deeply.’ “The Vara is one of the most profound expressions of Messina’s identity,” continued the Mayor, “and Antonello da Messina represents another equally strong and globally recognised element of that identity. To deprive the city of works of such value is to strike not only at its artistic heritage, but also at the memory, culture and very identity of the Messina community. It is an act that we condemn in the strongest possible terms.”

The Mayor expressed his full confidence in the investigative work of the police, who took immediate action to piece together the sequence of events and identify those responsible, in the hope that the works can be recovered and returned to the city as soon as possible. “‘Antonello is Messina, and Messina is also Antonello,’ concluded Basile. ‘These works are part of our city’s history and represent a heritage that must not be lost. We hope that the investigators’ work will enable them to be returned to their rightful place soon and that the full truth of what happened will come to light.’”

“The theft of Antonello da Messina’s masterpieces held at the Accascina Regional Museum is a criminal act of exceptional gravity and an intolerable affront to the universal cultural heritage. These works are not only deeply rooted in the history of Messina and Sicily, but also represent a heritage for Italy and the whole world. Their theft is a blow to us all. The top priority now is to recover them as soon as possible and bring those responsible to justice.” So says the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifani. “The Region,” he added, “is already providing full cooperation to the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, making available any information useful to the investigation. It should be made clear that the museum’s alarm and CCTV systems were functioning normally. The video recordings and other data collected are already being examined by investigators and will help to reconstruct the sequence of events and identify those responsible.” “At the same time,” Schifani continued, “an internal investigation has already been launched to reconstruct every step and ascertain any liability attributable to the actions of the security staff. These are matters that must be investigated with the utmost rigour, whilst respecting the rights of the staff involved. No grey areas will be tolerated. Those masterpieces belong to everyone, and the Region will do whatever is necessary to ensure they are returned to their rightful places as soon as possible.”

The Regional Museum of Messina, which opened in its new, spacious complex in June 2017, is named after Maria Accascina, one of the most prominent figures in Sicilian art history and the museum’s director from 1949 to 1963. It is situated in the area – as stated on the museum’s website – where the ruins of the 16th-century Basilian monastery of San Salvatore dei Greci once stood; destroyed by the 1908 earthquake, the remains of the church’s structure and the crypt beneath it are still visible today and have been incorporated into the exhibition area. Organised over three levels, two of which are dedicated to exhibitions, it covers an area of 17,118 square metres, with architectural features also incorporated into the outdoor spaces. The rich collections, most of which originate from the city as it was before the earthquake, bear witness to the relationships and exchanges that have characterised Messina since its earliest days, thanks to the strategic position of its natural harbour, one of the most important in the Mediterranean.

Known throughout the world for the masterpieces of Antonello da Messina and Caravaggio, the museum traces the history and artistic culture of Messina from its prehistoric settlement in the 4th millennium BC to the 19th century. Since 1911, the nineteenth-century Filanda Mellinghoff – which has remained intact and is still part of the extensive museum complex – has housed works from the earliest collections, becoming the home of the national museum from its foundation in 1914, under the direction of Enrico Mauceri, who was responsible for the initial organisation of the collections and the museum’s inauguration in 1922. Following the abandonment of plans for a new building, proposed by Francesco Valenti in 1916, and with the idea of restoring the Monte di Pietà as the museum’s permanent home – as proposed by Armando Dillon – having been abandoned, the collections were moved to the Monastery of San Placido Calonerò at the outbreak of the Second World War, only to be returned to their original location after the war. It was Maria Accascina who was responsible for reorganising the Museum following the damage caused by the bombing. After years of intense work and despite many difficulties, Accascina reopened it in 1954, with a modern museum layout.