Thieves steal Antonello da Messina panels from Sicilian museum during festival

On 15 August, during a religious procession, at least two men cut through fencing, forced a side door, and stole five surviving panels of Antonello da Messina's polyptych and a double-sided painting from the Museo Regionale Accascina. Investigators are puzzled by the heist, noting the date was deliberately chosen because the streets were quiet. The theft is part of a series of high-profile art robberies in Europe, and authorities have released few details.

The heist occurred during the Vara procession, a tradition dating to 1535 that draws over 150,000 people into central Messina, leaving the museum's northern outskirts nearly empty. Thieves cut through perimeter fencing and entered through a side door lacking an alarm system, possibly accessing the grounds via an adjacent apartment block. Two masked men wearing motorcycle helmets carried out the theft, with two suspected lookouts outside.

The stolen works include five surviving panels of the 1473 Polittico di San Gregorio and a small double-sided Madonna and Child painting. Two of the five polyptych panels were abandoned at the outer fence during the escape. The museum's exact point of entry remains under investigation, and authorities have released few details about the stolen pieces' current whereabouts.