Italian authorities have successfully retrieved three paintings by renowned French artists Paul Cézanne, Henri Matisse, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir that were stolen from a museum close to the city of Parma in March. Carabinieri officers discovered the artworks in an apartment in Parma and are investigating nine Moldovan individuals in connection with the theft.

The stolen paintings, including Cezanne’s “Tasse et Plat de Cerises,” Renoir’s “Les Poissons,” and Matisse’s “Odalisque sur la Terrasse,” were taken from the Fondazione Magnani Rocca museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo. Art specialists have estimated the combined value of the paintings to be over €9 million ($14.4 million).

In a swift operation captured on video, two masked burglars entered the museum through a window, swiftly removed the paintings from the wall, and exited within three minutes. The Fondazione Magnani Rocca is renowned for housing a private collection curated by the late music critic Luigi Magnani, featuring works by artists such as Titian, Francisco Goya, Claude Monet, and Giorgio Morandi.

The recovery of these valuable paintings marks a significant breakthrough in the case of the high-profile art theft that occurred in March.