![THE HERALD STUDENT REPORTERS [US]](/assets/images/logo_student_us.png){kind=logo}
![THE HERALD STUDENT REPORTERS [Canada]](/assets/images/logo_student_ca.png){kind=logo}
Italian museum gets robbed under under 5 minutes
The Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum located in the Italian countryside outside the city of Parma, had been robbed on March 22nd to March 23rd in under 5 minutes, stealing millions of dollars worth of paintings.
Some of the artists of the stolen paintings were : Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse.
There were four thieves when the heist happened. Police came within 2 minutes but the thieves had escaped the minute before taking the paintings worth about $10 million euros.
The paintings stolen were 3 paintings: The Less Poissons by Renoir, The Steal Life With Cherries by Cézanne and Odalisque on the Terrace by Mattice.
One of the policemen quoted “ in the hope of catching the thieves if they “returned.”
Time magazine reported, “We believe the gang that stole the painting were structured and “organized.”
As the thieves removed the paintings from the walls, the museum's security alert was triggered, signaling the police. However, the criminals stopped stealing the paintings and left.
This is the order in which the thieves stole the 3 artworks.
First, masked bandits entered the building through the front gate or back gate using crowbars at approximately 2:00 am to 3:00 am, and it was unclear if there were security guards nearby.
Second, the four thieves went directly to the french room and stole 3 specific paintings: a Renoir, Cézanne and a Mattice.
Third, they set off the security alarm by removing the paintings leaving the fourth piece behind.
Last, they escaped within three minutes and within 1 minute after the police arrived.
The bandits made their escape through the museum's garden, climbing onto the perimeter fence and fleeing to the countryside.
As of the time this article was written, the bandits were still on the loose but the museum is still running with customers gazing at the artworks.
The tactic they used was smash and grab, which is how the thieves stole the 3 paintings in 3 minutes.
Experts say that this heist is linked up to a heist on October 19th of 2025 called the “Louvre heist” in Paris, France.
During the Louvre heist, 4 masked people arrived at 9:30 30 minutes after the museum opened and stole paintings within 7 minutes.
They went right past the Mona Lisa, which people were gathered to see, and only took jewelry.
They stole nine but made off with eight because they lost one Crown of Empress Eugénie.
Encrusted with 1354 diamonds and 56 emeralds, the Crown was dropped during the escape leaving it on the sidewalk where it got damaged, losing millions worth dollars.
Nevertheless, 1year later on the April of 2026 they got caught but the Louvre heist, the criminals got caught because of the DNA samples and they were sentenced to jail for 15 years by the judge and had to pay fines
In conclusion, experts claim that the seven-minute Louvre heist was similar to the three-minute Italian Heist, but both artworks and jewelry are still missing.
- Mason Park / Grade 4
- Troy Christian International School