ITALY – £5m painting stolen from church because of lack of funds

Detail. Photo: ANSA

A Renaissance masterpiece by Guercino from 1639 was stolen overnight from the church of San Vincenzo in Modena. The painting is invaluable, an oil on canvas of three meters tall and nearly two wide. It was most likely a robbery on commission. The church is steps away from the police office and court.

The church did have an alarm system, but lack of funds meant that the security alarm protecting the masterpiece was not working. It had been paid for by a donation from a local bank but once those funds dried up it had been switched off. The well-known Italian art critic Vittorio Sgarbi asks: “How is it possible that the authorities allowed a work this valuable to remain without any security?”

The mayor of Modena, Gian Carlo Muzzarelli, said: “The theft has affected not just the church but the whole city.”

Read the full article in Italian here and in English here.