Italian police have recovered three paintings worth a combined estimated nine million euros that were stolen in a brazen nighttime raid on a private museum near Parma, in northern Italy. The works — by French masters Auguste Renoir, Paul Cézanne, and Henri Matisse — were discovered hidden in a cardboard box inside a hallway cupboard during a search of a property. Five suspects, all Moldovan nationals living in the Parma region, have been arrested in connection with the theft.

The robbery took place in the early hours of 23 March at the Fondazione Magnani Rocca, located roughly 20 kilometres from Parma. Founded in 1977, the foundation preserves the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and is considered one of Italy's most important private museums, housing works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya, Monet, and others. Security camera footage captured four masked thieves using a tractor to break open the entrance gate before making off through the museum gardens in under three minutes, reportedly interrupted by a security alarm.

The most valuable of the stolen works is Cézanne's still life Nature morte aux cerises (1885–1887), estimated at six million euros. Also taken were Renoir's Les poissons (1917), valued at around three million euros, and Matisse's aquatint L'odalisque sur la terasse (1922), worth approximately 20,000 euros. Investigators were aided by physical evidence left at the scene — a pickaxe and a fire extinguisher with their serial numbers removed. Forensic experts were able to reconstruct those numbers, tracing the objects to a residential apartment complex. Additional stolen goods worth thousands of euros were found at the searched property, and the suspects are also being investigated for burglaries at homes and businesses.

The recovery comes amid a broader wave of high-profile art thefts across Europe. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca has said it believes an organised and well-structured criminal gang was behind the heist. Italian authorities have not released further details about the investigation, as it remains ongoing.

The theft and recovery highlight the ongoing vulnerability of cultural institutions, even those with security systems in place. The speed and precision of the raid — completed in roughly 180 seconds — suggests prior knowledge of the museum's layout, underlining concerns about the organised targeting of art collections across the continent.