ROME, August 18. /TASS/. Detectives investigating the theft of works by Renaissance master Antonello da Messina (c. 1429-1479) from a museum in the Sicilian city of Messina have found a van believed to have been used by the thieves. According to Corriere della Sera newspaper, the vehicle was abandoned in a deserted area on the outskirts of the city, away from surveillance cameras.

The investigation is being conducted by a special Carabinieri unit specializing in combating art crime. Investigators believe the perpetrators switched to another vehicle.

The theft occurred on the evening of August 15 at the Regional Museum of Messina, where works by the renowned Sicilian artist were on display. Four panels were stolen. It later emerged that the thieves had actually removed all five panels of the polyptych from the museum but left two of them by the fence. The value of the stolen works has not been disclosed. Experts say the scale of the theft is comparable to the 1969 disappearance of Caravaggio's Nativity with St. Francis and St. Lawrence from a church in Palermo, a painting that has never been recovered.

Security has been tightened at all ports and airports across Sicily.