Rubens, Tintoretto artworks stolen in armed raid at Verona museumNovember 21, 2015 - 15:03 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Masterpieces by Rubens and Tintoretto were among 15 artworks stolen 'to order' by masked robbers from a museum in Verona, the city's mayor said Friday, November 20, according to AFP. Three men dressed in black entered the Castelvecchio museum in northern Italy at the evening change of guard on Thursday, tying up and gagging the site's security officer and a cashier before nabbing the paintings. Their haul included "Portrait of a Lady" by Flemish Baroque painter Peter Paul Rubens and "Male Portrait" by Venetian artist Tintoretto, as well as works by Pisanello, Jacopo Bellini, Giovanni Francesco Caroto and Hans de Jode. The museum told art investigators the works were worth an estimated 15 million euros ($16.05 million), adding that it looked like the job had likely been masterminded by a private collector. "Someone sent them, they were skilled, they knew exactly where they were going," mayor Flavio Tosi said, adding that 11 of the paintings stolen had been masterpieces while others were more minor works. Roberto Bolis from the council's press office said the museum had 24-hour security but the robbery had been planned so that the thieves arrived after the building emptied but before the alarms had been activated. "We don't yet know if they were armed, or whether they took the security officer's weapon," he said, adding that both the guard and cashier were in shock and were being debriefed by investigators. Photo: Imago Top stories The creative crew of the Public TV had chosen 13-year-old Malena as a participant of this year's contest. She called on others to also suspend their accounts over the companies’ failure to tackle hate speech. Penderecki was known for his film scores, including for William Friedkin’s “The Exorcist”, Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The festival made the news public on March 19, saying that “several options are considered in order to preserve its running” Partner news | Government reveals details from Pashinyan’s meeting in border village Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has met with a group of residents of a border village in Armenia’s northern Tavush province Narek Manasyan wins European Boxing Championships silver for Armenia Armenia’s Narek Manasyan (92kg) won Armenia’s second silver medal at the European Boxing Championships 2024 on April 28. Blinken urges Azerbaijan to continue negotiations with Armenia Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken has urged Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to continue negotiations with Armenia. Pashinyan, Blinken talk Armenia-U.S. ties over the phone Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan had a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on April 28, Pashinyan’s office reports. |