Masterpieces by Cézanne and Renoir worth 9 million euros recovered in Italy; Moldovan gang arrested

Italian Carabinieri have successfully recovered three invaluable paintings by French masters, stolen in March from a museum near Parma. Five individuals, believed to be part of an organized criminal group, were arrested. Italian authorities confirmed the successful conclusion of a months-long search for the valuable artworks stolen from a private museum in northern Italy. The special unit of the Carabinieri for the protection of cultural heritage located three masterpieces by Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse, with a total estimated value exceeding nine million euros. The paintings were discovered in the possession of one of the suspects during searches in the province of Parma and its surroundings. Five individuals, all Moldovan citizens residing in the Parma area, were arrested on suspicion of belonging to an organized criminal group responsible for numerous burglaries. The stolen works include Renoir's "Fish" (oil on canvas), Cézanne's "Still Life with Cherries" (watercolor), and Matisse's "Odalisque on the Terrace" (color print). Experts estimate Cézanne's work at a staggering six million euros, Renoir's painting at three million euros, and Matisse's print at approximately 20,000 euros. The theft occurred on the night of March 22-23 at the prestigious Magnani Rocca Foundation. Surveillance footage showed two masked burglars breaking a window, entering the building, specifically removing the three paintings from the wall, and fleeing in under three minutes. It is believed that an activated alarm hindered the burglars' escape, causing them to drop a fourth painting, Renoir's "Paysage de Cagnes," also valued at around three million euros. The investigation was aided by tools left at the crime scene: a pickaxe and a fire extinguisher. Although their serial numbers were erased, forensic experts from the Carabinieri's special department managed to reconstruct them. The case had intrigued the public for months, partly due to experts' confusion over the selection of stolen works, which were so recognizable that selling them would have been nearly impossible, a fact the thieves likely did not anticipate.

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Fish