Italian police have recovered three paintings by French masters Paul Cézanne, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Henri Matisse that were stolen from a museum near the northern city of Parma in March, officials said.
Carabinieri from Italy's cultural heritage protection unit found the artworks in an apartment in Parma, the AGI news agency reported, adding that nine Moldovan citizens are under investigation for the theft.
The paintings were stolen from the Magniani Rocca Foundation museum in Mamiiano di Traversetolo, near Parma, on the night between March 22 and 23.
Art experts have estimated their value at more than nine million euros, Reuters reports.
The works found are Cézanne's "Cup and Saucer with Cherries", Renoir's "Fish" and Matisse's "Odalisque on the Terrace".
Police released video of the theft, which shows two masked burglars entering through a window, removing three paintings from the wall, and immediately leaving the building. The entire operation lasted less than three minutes.
The Magnani Rocca Foundation preserves a private collection assembled by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, which includes works by Titian, Francisco Goya, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, Claude Monet, Peter Paul Rubens and Giorgio Morandi.
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