The 1974 Theft of Antonello da Messina's 'Ecce Homo' from Novara Recalled

In the night between 23 and 24 July 1974, the Museo del Broletto in Novara was the scene of a major art theft. Among the eight works stolen was an 'Ecce Homo' attributed to Antonello da Messina, a small painting from the fifteenth century. The museum, which at the time lacked both an alarm system and a director, was vulnerable. The painting has never been recovered, and the case remains one of Italy's unsolved art thefts. The Fondazione Zeri's catalogue now lists the work as by an anonymous fifteenth-century artist, with previous attributions to Antonello da Messina and Pietro de Saliba. In 2021, the Italian TV programme 'Chi l'ha visto?' also sought information about the missing work. A photograph taken in 1961 by SCALA – Istituto Fotografico Editoriale has recently come to light and was provided to the Comando Carabinieri per la Tutela del Patrimonio Culturale in 2020 to aid identification. SCALA, founded in Florence in 1953 by John Clark and Mario Ronchetti with the support of art historian Roberto Longhi, pioneered professional colour photography of artworks. The theft is part of a broader history of Italian cultural heritage losses, including works by Caravaggio, Giovanni Bellini, and Garofalo.