While a Sicilian city turned its gaze toward religious procession and summer celebration, thieves turned theirs toward something older and more fragile — the irreplaceable. Four Renaissance paintings attributed to Antonello da Messina, worth between 70 and 80 million euros, were taken from Messina's MuMe museum on Saturday evening, exploiting the very moment when a community's attention was elsewhere. The loss is not merely financial; it is a wound to cultural identity, and the works' fame may prove both their greatest protection and their deepest curse.