Thieves steal paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse from Italian private museum - AP News

1 of 2 |  Italian Newspapers carry the news of the heist of three paintings, “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse, from a museum near Parma, northern Italy, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) 2 of 2 |  Art historian Claudio Strinati looks at newspapers reporting the theft of three paintings - Auguste Renoir’s Fish, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace - from a museum near Parma in northern Italy, during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia) 1 of 2 |  Italian Newspapers carry the news of the heist of three paintings, “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse, from a museum near Parma, northern Italy, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) Italian Newspapers carry the news of the heist of three paintings, “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse, from a museum near Parma, northern Italy, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More 2 of 2 |  Art historian Claudio Strinati looks at newspapers reporting the theft of three paintings - Auguste Renoir’s Fish, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace - from a museum near Parma in northern Italy, during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia) Art historian Claudio Strinati looks at newspapers reporting the theft of three paintings - Auguste Renoir’s Fish, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace - from a museum near Parma in northern Italy, during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More By  GIADA ZAMPANO and PAOLO SANTALUCIA Updated : , ,   Leer en español  Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share (function () { const counter = document.getElementById("scrollToComments"); const HEADER_OFFSET = 120; function findCommentsModule() { return document.querySelector('.vf3-comments, #vf-conversations, '); } function maybeShowCounter() { if (findCommentsModule()) { counter.style.display = "inline-flex"; } else { counter.style.display = "none"; } } // Show only when Viafoura is present maybeShowCounter(); // Watch DOM for late loads const observer = new MutationObserver(maybeShowCounter); observer.observe(document.documentElement, { childList: true, subtree: true }); // Scroll action counter.addEventListener("click", function () { const el = findCommentsModule(); if (!el) return; const top = el.getBoundingClientRect().top + window.scrollY - HEADER_OFFSET; window.scrollTo({ top, behavior: "smooth" }); }); })(); .thin-line-button { display: inline-flex; align-items: center; justify-content: center; border: 1px solid #ccc; height: 30px; padding: 0 10px; cursor: pointer; border-radius: 5px; background: none; text-align: center; font-size: 1.4rem; font-weight: 700; white-space: nowrap; flex-shrink: 0; color: inherit; transition: none; /* Remove animation effect */ } .thin-line-button { color: #000; background: white; } /* Remove hover effect */ .thin-line-button:hover { border: 1px solid #ccc; } .comment-icon { width: 20px; height: 20px; min-width: 20px; min-height: 20px; flex: 0 0 20px; object-fit: contain; display: inline-block; } .Page-actions-commentCounter .embed-caption { display: none; } .vf-comments-count.vf-is-logged-in { margin-left: 4px; } ROME (AP) — Thieves made off with three paintings by Renoir, Cézanne and Matisse worth millions of euros from a museum near the city of Parma in northern Italy, police said Monday. The heist took place on the night of March 22-23, with thieves forcing open the entrance door, police said. The three stolen paintings are “Fish” by Auguste Renoir, “Still Life with Cherries” by Paul Cézanne, and “Odalisque on the Terrace” by Henri Matisse. The Magnani Rocca Foundation, a private museum, lies in the countryside 20 kilometers (12 miles) from Parma. Local media reported that the thieves took the paintings in less than three minutes and escaped across the museum gardens. Established in 1977, the foundation hosts the collection of art historian Luigi Magnani and also includes works by Dürer, Rubens, Van Dyck, Goya and Monet. The museum believes a structured and organized gang was responsible for the theft, which was interrupted by the alarm, local media reported. The museum didn’t post any statement about the theft on its website and wasn’t reachable for a comment, because it’s closed on Monday. The crime comes after a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including the theft in October of French crown jewels and other items worth 88 million euros ($101 million) from the Louvre in Paris. Italian art expert Claudio Strinati said that the three stolen paintings are minor works from the three masters. Art historian Claudio Strinati looks at newspapers reporting the theft of three paintings - Auguste Renoir’s Fish, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace - from a museum near Parma in northern Italy, during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia) Art historian Claudio Strinati looks at newspapers reporting the theft of three paintings - Auguste Renoir’s Fish, Paul Cézanne’s Still Life with Cherries and Henri Matisse’s Odalisque on the Terrace - from a museum near Parma in northern Italy, during an interview with The Associated Press in Rome, Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Paolo Santalucia) Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Share Share Facebook Copy Link copied Email X LinkedIn Bluesky Flipboard Pinterest Reddit Read More “Renoir’s painting, for example, is very beautiful, but, within the context of the foundation as a whole, it isn’t among the most important works,” he told The Associated Press. Strinati also said the heist could be followed by a ransom request. “Art thefts can indeed be carried out for the purpose of extortion,” he said. PAOLO SANTALUCIA Santalucia covers events throughout Southern Europe, Italy, the Mediterranean sea and the Vatican for The Associated Press based in Rome. instagram mailto window.vfQ = window.vfQ || ; // Tags that always block comments on ANY story, regardless of section. Example const COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS = ; // Section name we care about (as it appears in ). // We'll normalize to lowercase, so "World News" -> "world news". const WORLD_NEWS_SECTION = 'world news'; // Tags that block comments ONLY when the story is in the World News section. const WORLD_NEWS_EXCLUSION_TAGS = ; window.vfQ = window.vfQ || ; // Zephr mod handling + prepublish + login failure handling setTimeout(() => { const all = document.querySelectorAll('.Zephr.Zephr-mod'); // If there's more than one of this element, delete the one with ID if (all.length > 1) { const withId = document.getElementById('viafoura-zephr-mod'); if (withId) withId.remove(); return } // prepublish → Zephr auth / walls handling window.vfQ.push(() => { if (!window.vf || typeof window.vf.$prepublish !== 'function') return; window.vf.$prepublish((channel, event, ...args) => { if (channel === 'authentication' && event === 'required') { window.vf.$publish && window.vf.$publish('tray', 'close'); window.Zephr?.openModal?.(); // window.location.href = `/login?target=${window.location.pathname}` return false; } else if (channel === 'walls' && event === 'post-attempt') { if (window.zephrQueue && typeof window.zephrQueue.enqueue === 'function') { window.zephrQueue.enqueue(async (zephr) => { if ( !zephr?.accessDetails?.authenticated || !window.Zephr?.openModal ) { return; } window.Zephr.openModal(); }); } return { channel, event, args }; } else { return { channel, event, args }; } }); }); // login failure → show ban message + tooltip window.vfQ.push(() => { if (!window.vf || typeof window.vf.$subscribe !== 'function') return; window.vf.$subscribe('login', 'failure', (errorContext) => { if (!errorContext) return; const isBanned = errorContext.error_key === 'login_banned'; if (!isBanned) return; let reasonText = 'Your account has been permanently banned from posting.'; if (errorContext.isPermanent === 0) { const date = new Date(errorContext.endDate); const formatted = date.toLocaleString('en-US', { month: 'short', day: 'numeric', year: 'numeric', hour: 'numeric', minute: '2-digit', hour12: true, }); reasonText = 'Your account has been banned from posting until ' + formatted; } waitForEditorWrapper((wrapper) => { if (wrapper && !document.querySelector('.vf-ban-container')) { const container = document.createElement('div'); container.className = 'vf-ban-container'; // Message const message = document.createElement('div'); message.className = 'vf-ban-message'; message.innerHTML = '❗' + '' + reasonText + ''; // Tooltip trigger if (errorContext.reason) { const tooltip = document.createElement('span'); tooltip.className = 'vf-ban-tooltip'; tooltip.textContent = ' — WHY WAS I BANNED?'; const tooltipContent = document.createElement('div'); tooltipContent.className = 'vf-ban-tooltip-content'; tooltipContent.textContent = errorContext.reason; tooltip.appendChild(tooltipContent); message.appendChild(tooltip); } container.appendChild(message); wrapper.parentNode.insertBefore(container, wrapper.nextSibling); } }); }); }); }, 50); function waitForEditorWrapper(callback, maxTries = 50, interval = 100) { let tries = 0; const iv = setInterval(() => { const wrapper = document.querySelector('.vf-new-content__content-editor-wrapper'); if (wrapper) { clearInterval(iv); callback(wrapper); } else if (++tries >= maxTries) { clearInterval(iv); } }, interval); } function pageHasBlockedTag(tagsToBlock = COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS) { const metas = Array.from( document.querySelectorAll(', 'meta' ].join(',')) ); const pageTags = metas .map(m => (m.getAttribute('content') || '')) .flatMap(c => c.split(',')) .map(s => s.trim().toLowerCase()) .filter(Boolean); const blockSet = new Set( (tagsToBlock || ).map(t => String(t).trim().toLowerCase()).filter(Boolean) ); return pageTags.some(t => blockSet.has(t)); } function getPageSection() { // Look for // or just in case. const meta = document.querySelector( 'meta, meta' ); if (!meta) return ''; return (meta.getAttribute('content') || '').trim().toLowerCase(); } function replaceBellIconInNav(container) { if (!container) return; const bellButtons = container.querySelectorAll( '.comment-nav-right .vf-tray-trigger.comment-nav-right__icon, .vf-tray-trigger' ); bellButtons.forEach((btn) => { if (btn.dataset.iconSwapped === '1') return; const bellSvg = btn.querySelector('.vf-icon_bell_icon'); if (bellSvg) bellSvg.remove(); const img = document.createElement('img'); img.src = 'https://assets.apnews.com/75/e2/83fe757647f790e4a0bf06370f10/comment-2.png'; img.alt = 'Comments'; img.style.height = '24px'; img.style.width = '24px'; img.style.verticalAlign = 'middle'; img.setAttribute('data-ap-bell', '1'); // precise selector for dark-mode tweak btn.appendChild(img); btn.dataset.iconSwapped = '1'; }); } function injectNoticeInContainer(container) { if (!container) return false; if (container.querySelector('.vf-guidelines-notice')) return true; const header = container.querySelector('.vf-comment-header'); if (!header) return false; const notice = document.createElement('div'); notice.className = 'vf-guidelines-notice'; notice.innerHTML = 'All comments are subject to our ' + 'Community Guidelines.' + 'Please note that comments are not moderated immediately — every post is reviewed before appearing publicly to ensure it meets our community guidelines. This means there may be a delay before your comment is visible.'; header.parentNode.insertBefore(notice, header.nextSibling); return true; } function hideFloatingBellButton() { document.querySelectorAll('.vf-tray-trigger--floating').forEach((btn) => { btn.style.display = 'none'; }); } function moveTrendingAboveCommentsFooter() { const trendingHost = document.getElementById('ap-trending-host'); if (!trendingHost || trendingHost.dataset.moved === '1') return; const footer = document.querySelector('#vf-conversations > div > section > div > footer'); if (footer && footer.parentNode) { footer.parentNode.insertBefore(trendingHost, footer); trendingHost.dataset.moved = '1'; } } function onCommentingLoaded() { const container = document.getElementById('ap-comments'); if (!container) return; injectNoticeInContainer(container); replaceBellIconInNav(container); moveTrendingAboveCommentsFooter(); } function wireViafoura() { if (window.vf && typeof window.vf.$subscribe === 'function') { window.vf.$subscribe('commenting', 'loaded', onCommentingLoaded); } } /* ----------------- DARK THEME HANDLING ----------------- */ function isDarkColor(rgb) { if (!rgb) return false; const m = rgb.match(/rgba?\((\d+),\s*(\d+),\s*(\d+)/i); if (!m) return false; const r = +m, g = +m, b = +m; const lum = (0.2126*r + 0.7152*g + 0.0722*b) / 255; return lum < 0.5; } function shouldUseDarkTheme() { if (document.querySelector('')) return true; const carrier = document.querySelector('') || document.body || document.documentElement; const bg = carrier ? getComputedStyle(carrier).backgroundColor : ''; return isDarkColor(bg); } function getEffectiveDarkBg() { const carrier = document.querySelector('') || document.body || document.documentElement; const bg = carrier ? getComputedStyle(carrier).backgroundColor : ''; return bg && bg !== 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)' && bg !== 'transparent' ? bg : '#0b0b0b'; } // NEW: normalize dropdown/menu background in dark mode (solid dark, non-transparent) function fixDarkModeDropdowns() { if (!shouldUseDarkTheme()) return; const bg = getEffectiveDarkBg(); const text = 'rgba(255,255,255,0.85)'; const dropdowns = document.querySelectorAll( ',,.vf-dropdown__menu,.vf-select__menu' ); dropdowns.forEach((el) => { const cs = getComputedStyle(el); const bgColor = cs.backgroundColor; // Only fix ones that are effectively transparent / not already dark if ( bgColor === 'rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)' || bgColor === 'transparent' ) { el.style.setProperty('--default-color', bg); el.style.setProperty('--background-color', bg); el.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-default-color', text); el.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-default-color', '#ffffff'); el.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-background-color', text); el.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-background-color', '#ffffff'); el.style.backgroundColor = bg; el.style.color = text; } }); } function applyDarkThemeIfNeeded() { const container = document.getElementById('ap-comments'); if (!container) return; const useDark = shouldUseDarkTheme(); const bg = useDark ? getEffectiveDarkBg() : null; container.classList.toggle('ap-comments--dark', useDark); if (useDark) { container.style.setProperty('--apc-bg', bg); container.style.setProperty('--apc-text', '#e8e8e8'); container.style.setProperty('--apc-link', '#9ecbff'); container.setAttribute('data-theme', 'dark'); container.style.setProperty('background', 'var(--apc-bg)', 'important'); // Normalize Viafoura / AP-style variables INSIDE the comments container container.style.setProperty('--default-color', bg); container.style.setProperty('--background-color', bg); container.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-default-color', 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8)'); container.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-default-color', '#ffffff'); container.style.setProperty('--light-text-on-background-color', 'rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8)'); container.style.setProperty('--dark-text-on-background-color', '#ffffff'); } else { container.removeAttribute('data-theme'); container.style.removeProperty('background'); .forEach(v => container.style.removeProperty(v)); } const elConv = document.getElementById('vf-conv'); const elTrend = document.getElementById('vf-trending'); const realConv = document.querySelector('#vf-conversations'); const realTrend = document.querySelector('#vf-trending-articles'); .forEach(el => { if (!el) return; if (useDark) { el.setAttribute('data-vf-theme', 'dark'); el.setAttribute('vf-theme', 'dark'); el.setAttribute('theme', 'dark'); el.style.removeProperty('background'); el.style.color = 'var(--apc-text)'; } else { .forEach(a => el.removeAttribute(a)); el.style.removeProperty('background'); el.style.removeProperty('color'); } }); .forEach((root) => { if (!root) return; if (useDark) { root.classList.add('ap-vf-dark'); root.setAttribute('data-theme', 'dark'); } else { root.classList.remove('ap-vf-dark'); root.removeAttribute('data-theme'); } }); // fix dropdowns / sort menus any time theme is recalculated if (useDark) { fixDarkModeDropdowns(); } } const vfObserver = new MutationObserver(() => { applyDarkThemeIfNeeded(); }); (function bootComments() { const container = document.getElementById('ap-comments'); if (!container) return; // Initial theme & dropdown fix applyDarkThemeIfNeeded(); // --------- NEW: Global block tags (e.g. no_comment) ---------- // If the page has ANY of the COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS, hide comments on all stories. if (pageHasBlockedTag(COMMENT_BLOCK_TAGS)) { container.innerHTML = ''; container.classList.remove('viafoura'); container.id = 'comments-hidden'; hideFloatingBellButton(); return; } // --------- NEW: Section-specific logic (World News) ---------- const section = getPageSection(); // Only apply this rule if the story is in World News. if (section === WORLD_NEWS_SECTION) { // If a World News story has any tag in WORLD_NEWS_EXCLUSION_TAGS (e.g. Israel), // hide the embed. Other sections with those tags are still allowed. if (pageHasBlockedTag(WORLD_NEWS_EXCLUSION_TAGS)) { container.innerHTML = ''; container.classList.remove('viafoura'); container.id = 'comments-hidden'; hideFloatingBellButton(); return; } } // --------- Existing Viafoura boot logic ---------- if (!window.vf && !document.querySelector('script')) { const s = document.createElement('script'); s.async = true; s.src = '//cdn.viafoura.net/entry/index.js'; document.head.appendChild(s); } if (document.readyState === 'complete' || document.readyState === 'interactive') { wireViafoura(); } else { document.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', wireViafoura); } (function startCappedRetry() { let tries = 0; const maxTries = 120; const iv = setInterval(() => { injectNoticeInContainer(container); replaceBellIconInNav(container); hideFloatingBellButton(); moveTrendingAboveCommentsFooter(); applyDarkThemeIfNeeded(); if (++tries >= maxTries) clearInterval(iv); }, 100); })(); try { vfObserver.observe(container, { childList: true, subtree: true }); } catch (e) {} })(); .vf-guidelines-notice { font-family: var(--primary-font, 'AP', sans-serif); font-size: 1.0em; color: #666; margin: 0 0 10px 0; padding-left: 4px; opacity: 0.85; line-height: 1.4; } .vf-guidelines-notice a { text-decoration: underline; font-weight: 500; } #vf-trending-articles > div > div > h2 { font-size: 14px !important; line-height: 1.2; text-transform: uppercase; } #vf-trending-articles p.vf-trending-article__comment-count { font-size: 16px !important; line-height: 1.1; } #comments-hidden { display: none; } /* ---------- Dark theme for AP comments ---------- */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark { --apc-bg: #0b0b0b; --apc-text: #e8e8e8; --apc-muted: #a7a7a7; --apc-border: #2a2a2a; --apc-link: #9ecbff; background: var(--apc-bg) !important; color: var(--apc-text); color-scheme: dark; } /* DO NOT touch every descendant’s colors anymore – that was killing badges/icons */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark a { color: var(--apc-link); } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark a:hover, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark a:focus { text-decoration: underline; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark hr, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-divider, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-comment + .vf-comment, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-card { border-color: var(--apc-border) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-guidelines-notice { color: var(--apc-muted); } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles > div > div > h2, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark p.vf-trending-article__comment-count { color: var(--apc-text) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations.ap-vf-dark, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles.ap-vf-dark { background: transparent !important; color: var(--apc-text) !important; color-scheme: dark; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles { background-color: var(--apc-bg) !important; } /* Removed “*:not(input)” background/color override so badges keep their own colors */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations section, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations article, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations header, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations footer, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-conversations .vf-card, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles section, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles article, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles header, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles footer, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark #vf-trending-articles .vf-card { background-color: transparent !important; border-color: var(--apc-border) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-form, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-editor-area { background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.08) !important; border: 1px solid rgba(255,255,255,0.24) !important; border-radius: 6px !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-input { color: var(--apc-text) !important; caret-color: var(--apc-text) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-input::placeholder { color: #cfcfcf !important; opacity: 1 !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-content-editor-input:focus, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-editor-area:focus-within { outline: none !important; border-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.36) !important; box-shadow: 0 0 0 2px rgba(255,255,255,0.12) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button__text { background-color: transparent !important; color: var(--apc-text) !important; border-color: var(--apc-border) !important; } #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button:hover, #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-dropdown-button:focus { background-color: rgba(255,255,255,0.06) !important; } /* Only tweak the swapped bell icon in dark mode; leave other badges alone */ #ap-comments.ap-comments--dark .vf-tray-trigger img { filter: invert(1) hue-rotate(180deg) brightness(1.1); opacity: 1; mix-blend-mode: normal; } /* Ban message styles */ .vf-ban-container { margin: 10px 0 15px; padding: 10px 12px; border-radius: 4px; background-color: #fff3cd; border: 1px solid #ffeeba; } .vf-ban-message { font-family: var(--primary-font, 'AP', sans-serif); font-size: 0.95em; color: #856404; display: flex; align-items: center; flex-wrap: wrap; } .vf-ban-icon { margin-right: 8px; } .vf-ban-tooltip { margin-left: 4px; font-weight: 600; text-decoration: underline; cursor: pointer; position: relative; } .vf-ban-tooltip-content { display: none; position: absolute; z-index: 9999; top: 120%; left: 0; width: 260px; padding: 8px 10px; background: #fff; border: 1px solid #ccc; border-radius: 4px; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; color: #333; box-shadow: 0 2px 4px rgba(0,0,0,0.1); } .vf-ban-tooltip:hover .vf-ban-tooltip-content { display: block; }