Gold sculptures worth more than $1.3 million stolen from Italian art exhibition

Nearly 50 gold pieces of art created by Italian sculptor Umberto Mastroianni were stolen from an exhibition near Lake Garda, Italy, on Wednesday night, the host of the exhibition, the Vittoriale degli Italiani estate, told CNN.

Forty-nine pieces of art, worth €1.2 million (more than $1.3 million USD), were stolen, a spokesperson for Vittoriale degli Italiani said Saturday.

One of the pieces, named “Uomo/Donna” (Man/Woman), was later found inside the exhibition complex’s grounds, but the other 48 pieces remain missing, the estate spokesperson told CNN.

The exhibition, called “Like a warm, flowing gold,” opened at the end of December and was scheduled to close on Friday.

Investigations into the theft are ongoing, the spokesperson added.

Giordano Bruno Guerri, the head of the estate, said he believed the theft was the work of a “highly specialized gang.”

“Our alarm systems are very extensive and already of the highest level, we were evidently hit by a highly specialized gang,” Guerri said, according to the AFP.

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