Antonello da Messina paintings stolen in Sicily

Four works by Renaissance artist Antonello da Messina have been stolen from a museum in Messina, Sicily, Italy's culture ministry said Sunday.

The ministry described the works as being of "extraordinary value". It said the theft happened late Saturday and included three panels of the 15th-century San Gregorio Polyptych.

Messina mayor Federico Basile called the theft "deeply reprehensible" and said it was especially painful because it happened during traditional city celebrations in honour of the Virgin Mary.

The theft came months after the Italian state bought Antonello da Messina's "Ecce Homo" at a New York auction for nearly $15 million, or 13 million euros.

Italian police said two days earlier that they had recovered three paintings by Renoir, Cezanne and Matisse worth more than nine million euros that had been stolen from a museum near Parma in northern Italy in March, allegedly by a gang of Moldovans.