Recovered Masterpieces Turn Spotlight on Italy's Private Museums

Italian police have recovered three paintings by the French masters Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse that were stolen from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo, near Parma, in March, according to the Guardian. The artworks are collectively valued at more than $10 million, with the New York Times reporting the Italian military police said the pieces were found five months after being taken in a nighttime heist.

On Friday, police released new CCTV footage of the theft, showing two masked burglars entering through a window and grabbing the works, the Guardian and BBC reported. Five accused thieves are now under arrest, CBS News reported, citing police. The recovery closes a five-month hunt that began when the paintings were snatched from the villa-based museum, a private foundation housing a collection that includes works by major European masters.