Police Recover Stolen Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse in Major Art Bust

Italian police have recovered three paintings by 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, the Guardian reported on Friday. The artworks, valued collectively at more than $10 million, were found five months after the nighttime heist.

On Friday, police released new CCTV footage showing two masked burglars entering the museum through a window and grabbing the paintings, according to the BBC. The Italian military police said the works had been recovered and that five people had been arrested in connection with the theft, the New York Times reported.

The recovery marks a rare success in Italy's battle against art crime, a field where the country has long been a global leader in recovery operations. The investigation, which involved the carabinieri's art squad, traced the paintings across multiple jurisdictions before securing their return.