Four 'extraordinary' Renaissance paintings stolen from Italian museum

Four Renaissance paintings of "extraordinary value" have been stolen from a museum in Sicily, Italy's culture minister has said.

Alessandro Giuli confirmed that three panels of the Polyptych of San Gregorio and a double-sided panel of the Madonna with Child and Christ in Pietà, all attributed to Antonello da Messina, were taken Regional Interdisciplinary Museum of Messina on Saturday night.

Police are now probing how the thieves were able to enter the museum without triggering its alarms and who may have been responsible.

The incident is the latest in a string of museum heists across Europe that have led to a growing number of priceless works disappearing from public view.

Investigators are working on the initial suspicion that the paintings were stolen to order by black market art thieves, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

It reported that the Madonna and Christ in Pietà was removed directly from inside a secure display case, while all the paintings taken were on wooden panels, preventing them from easily being rolled up.

The museum's director Marisa Mercurio said the theft was thought to have occurred around 21:50 local time (19:50 GMT) on Saturday.

"We are shocked by what happened," she told Ansa, describing it as "a great loss for the museum, for the city, the community and the art world".

Antonello da Messina was a 15th Century painter born and raised on Sicily, who would go on to become one of the early Renaissance period's master painters.

His San Gregorio Polyptych, painted in 1473, depicts the Virgin Mary holding an infant Jesus Christ, flanked by St Gregory and St Benedict as well as several angels.

The artwork, of which five panels survive, was commissioned for the monastery of Santa Maria.