Parma-geddon Averted: The Carabinieri Bring Three Masterpieces Home

The theft at Italy's Fondazione Magnani Rocca had all the efficiency of a very badly planned museum tour—and about as much subtlety as ordering a pizza with everything on it. During the night of March 22–23, thieves broke into the private museum near Parma, slipped through a window, tore three paintings from the walls, and disappeared. The entire operation reportedly took less than three minutes. That's barely enough time to finish an doppio espresso standing up! And they certainly didn't leave with the museum's leftovers. Their targets were Paul Cézanne's Tasse et Plat de Cerises, Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Les Poissons, and Henri Matisse's Odalisque sur la Terrasse—three masterpieces collectively valued at more than €9 million. Security footage released by Italian authorities captured two masked burglars entering the museum, grabbing the paintings, and making their escape almost immediately. It was less Ocean's Eleven and more Ocean's Three-Minute Takeout. Fortunately, this particular Italian job came with a second course. Italian Carabinieri officers specializing in the protection of cultural heritage eventually tracked down all three paintings to an apartment in Parma. Nine Moldovan nationals were placed under investigation in connection with the theft. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca houses the remarkable collection assembled by Italian music critic and collector Luigi Magnani, whose holdings include works by Titian, Goya, Tiepolo, Monet, Rubens, and Morandi. The Cézanne, Renoir, and Matisse weren't merely expensive paintings—they were part of an important private collection displayed for the public. The case offers a particularly Italian lesson in art crime: stealing three masterpieces might be fast, but figuring out where to stash a Cézanne, a Renoir, and a Matisse is considerably harder. You can't exactly wrap them in newspaper and leave them behind the Parm pile.