After Louvre Heist and String of Thefts, Europe’s Smaller Museums Are on Guard
Two men wearing head torches climbed through a forced-open window at the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum near Parma on the night of March 22 and calmly lifted artworks by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse from the walls. Within three minutes, they had passed the works, valued at about €9 million ($10 million), to an accomplice and fled. At the museum's main gate, a fourth man discharged a fire extinguisher when the alarm sounded, distracting the custodian. "Whatever could go wrong, did," said Stefano Roffi, director of the private foundation that runs the museum.
