Was It Sgarbi?
The news that has made headlines in newspapers and on television around the world in recent days is the sensational theft of jewels in broad daylight at the world’s most visited museum, the Louvre. The history of art theft is almost as old as that of humankind itself, with countless examples and episodes. It is no coincidence that when reporting the Louvre theft, the media immediately recalled another famous heist at the same museum: the 1911 theft of the Mona Lisa.
Yet, while thefts from museums still make international headlines, those committed against private owners or in churches often barely make it past local news.
There are, however, some exceptions — such as the case that reached national attention involving a large painting by the 17th-century Sienese artist Rutilio Manetti, titled The Arrest of Saint Peter. Manetti, who worked between the late 1500s and early 1600s, evolved from a late Mannerist style toward a Baroque painting enriched with Caravaggesque accents that make his work particularly intriguing.
The painting at the center of this tangled affair was housed in the uninhabited Castle of Buriasco in Piedmont, near Pinerolo, until 2013, when it was stolen one night (the castle, owned by Margherita Buzio, is currently for sale). Estimated value: several hundred thousand euros.
On December 8, 2021, art historian, collector, and then Undersecretary for Culture Vittorio Sgarbi inaugurated an exhibition in Lucca dedicated to Caravaggesque painters from the region. Among the many works on display appeared a previously unknown large painting by Rutilio Manetti, listed as coming from Sgarbi’s private collection, titled The Arrest of Saint Peter — strikingly similar to the one stolen eight years earlier. The only visible difference was a background detail: a lit torch absent in the stolen work. Everything else appeared identical.
In the exhibition catalogue, co-written by Sgarbi and art historian Marco Ciampolini, an expert on 17th-century Sienese painting, the work was said to come from Villa Maidalchina, near Viterbo, once owned by Olimpia Pamphilj and later purchased by Sgarbi. There, Sgarbi allegedly “rediscovered” the lost painting. This adventurous account sparked a journalistic — and soon judicial — investigation.
According to investigators, Sgarbi had visited the Castle of Buriasco several times, as confirmed by the owner, Margherita Buzio. His associate, Paolo Bocedi, president of the anti-racketeering association SOS Italia, also visited the castle and at one point offered to buy the painting, but was refused. A few weeks after Bocedi’s visit, Ms. Buzio discovered the theft: the thieves had crudely cut the canvas from its frame with a utility knife and replaced it with a plastic sheet showing a photographic reproduction of the painting, clumsily stapled in place. The theft was immediately reported, but the Pinerolo prosecutor’s office closed the case. The painting was nonetheless listed in the database of stolen artworks. Nothing happened until the Lucca exhibition, when a very similar canvas reappeared — torch included.
This very torch was emphasized in the Lucca catalogue entry:
“A torch, reminiscent of Honthorst, illuminates the space to the left of Herod, creating a symmetry with the scenographic background of the road on the right. There is an evident Caravaggesque influence, combined with a theatrical flair both in the overall composition and in the elongated figures, whose movements seem like a ‘dance step.’”
This emphasis was likely intentional, as it is precisely on the presence of the torch that Sgarbi bases his claim that his painting is not the one stolen in Pinerolo.
But a dramatic twist came from the testimony of Gianfranco Mingardi, a restorer and long-time collaborator of Sgarbi. Mingardi stated that in the summer of 2013, he received from Bocedi a rolled-up canvas, without a stretcher, said by Sgarbi to come from Villa Maidalchina. Mingardi claims he asked Sgarbi for documentation proving ownership due to the strange condition of the work — the canvas having been roughly cut — but never received it. He nevertheless restored the painting and returned it in December 2018. Mingardi now says he is certain that this was the same canvas later exhibited in Lucca, except for the added torch, which was not present in the version he worked on.
The torch is also absent from the official database entry for the stolen painting, which lists different dimensions: 247 × 220 cm versus 233 × 204 cm for the Lucca canvas. This difference is easily explained by the fact that the stolen painting was hastily cut from its frame, leaving fragments behind. The restorer Mingardi confirmed this:
“When I unrolled it for lining, a piece was actually missing; only when I flattened it out did I realize it had been taped to the back with Scotch tape.”
Another key element emerged from an interview with Luigi Achilli, former owner of Villa Maidalchina, who contradicted Sgarbi’s account. Achilli stated that when Sgarbi’s mother purchased the villa in 2000, there were no artworks inside, as the building was in total disrepair. Sgarbi, however, insists he found the painting in an attic (Achilli notes the villa has no attics) during renovation work. Moreover, the detailed 1649 inventory of Andrea Maidalchini’s possessions — which lists many paintings — makes no mention of any work by Manetti.
At the beginning of 2024, the case against Sgarbi deepened. The Prosecutor’s Office of Macerata opened an investigation into the undersecretary for alleged crimes including laundering of cultural property, self-laundering, and forgery of artworks. On January 12, 2024, the painting in Sgarbi’s possession was seized as evidence. In October 2024, the preliminary investigation phase was closed — meaning the prosecutor completed the inquiry and formally notified Sgarbi. According to the report, the painting “was stolen and doctored.”
Sgarbi has responded by filing defamation suits, maintaining that his painting is the original, and that the one stolen from Pinerolo was merely a copy.
While reports emerge of the first two arrests for the Louvre theft, there is still no final verdict in the Sgarbi case. The investigation is closed, but there is no indication that a trial has begun or that a conviction has been issued. What is certain is that Vittorio Sgarbi faces a potential sentence of up to 12 years in prison if convicted of the charges. The painting remains under seizure, pending technical examinations comparing dimensions, canvas, pigments, and overlaps with fragments from the stolen work. Part of these analyses has already confirmed that the canvas in Sgarbi’s possession matches the fragments left in the stolen painting’s frame.
Once again, it seems that scientific analysis may hold the key to resolving this extraordinary case.
