Paintings by Renoir, Cézanne, and Matisse worth millions were stolen in a heist on a museum near the Italian city of Parma, police say.
Four masked men entered the Magnani Rocca Foundation villa on 22 March, police said, making off with Les Poissons by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Still Life with Cherries by Paul Cézanne, and Odalisque on the Terrace by Henri Matisse.
The gang were in and out in the space of three minutes, Italian media outlets have reported, and were only interrupted by the museum's alarm system, preventing them from stealing more.
The institution is the latest to be subject to a heist, following the brazen daylight robbery of priceless jewels from the Louvre in Paris last October.
The thieves involved in the robbery forced their way through the main door to the Villa dei Capolavori, nestled in the Parma countryside, and nabbed the paintings from the French Room on the first floor.
The foundation described the gang as structured and organised, indicating they likely planned to steal more had the private collection's alarms not gone off and police been called.
According to reports, the criminals escaped by climbing over a fence, and it is estimated the stolen paintings have a combined value of €9 million (£7.8 million), with Les Poissons alone worth €6 million, marking it as one of the most significant art thefts in Italy in recent years.
Renoir, a leading figure in the Impressionist movement, completed the oil-on-canvas Les Poissons around 1917. The Cézanne, finished around 1890, is one of the few cherry-themed still-lifes employing watercolor, which he began to use late in his life.
Odalisque on the Terrace, painted by Matisse in 1922, features two figures—one reclining in the sun and another holding a violin. This brazen heist is currently under investigation by Italy's Carabinieri and the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Bologna.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation was established following Luigi Magnani's death in 1984, commemorating the composer and art collector's legacy in his family home.
