A 15th-century painting of the Virgin Mary and Christ Child is among four artworks stolen from a museum in Sicily in a major theft of works by Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina.
Thieves broke into the Museo Regionale di Messina late on Saturday, as the city was marking the Feast of the Assumption, according to Reuters.
Among the works taken was a small, double-sided painting depicting the Virgin and Child alongside a Franciscan monk on one side and Christ on the other.
The artwork, from the Wilhelm Soldan collection, was bought by the Sicilian regional authorities at Christie's in 2003, the same year it was attributed to Antonello.
Five wooden panels from the Polittico di San Gregorio, an altarpiece measuring around 170cm by 203cm, were also removed. Two were subsequently abandoned outside the museum, leaving three panels missing.
The altarpiece originally consisted of six panels and was created for a monastery in Messina which was later destroyed in the city's devastating 1908 earthquake. It is the only surviving work by Antonello known to have remained in his hometown.
Messina Mayor Federico Basile told Reuters that the burglary happened while the city was busy with celebrations for the Assumption.
The annual festivities include La Vara, a centuries-old procession in which a large carriage featuring figures of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and angels is taken through the streets.
Enzo Caruso, the councillor responsible for culture in Messina, said the city had been "truly stunned" by the theft.
"At first, nobody could believe it," he told Reuters.
Caruso suggested the museum may have attracted the attention of criminals following the Italian state's purchase of another Antonello work for $15 million (£11.1 million) earlier this year.
"This was almost certainly a commissioned theft," he said.
Born in Sicily around 1430, Antonello da Messina became one of the most significant Italian painters of the early Renaissance. He trained in Naples and was strongly influenced by Flemish painting before returning to Messina, where he worked for much of his career.
The museum also holds works by the Italian Baroque painter Caravaggio.
Additional reporting by Reuters
