Thieves have made off with several paintings worth millions of euros from the Magnani Rocca Foundation museum in Mamiano di Traversetolo, near the city of Parma in northern Italy, police confirmed on Sunday.

The heist took place in under three minutes on the night of March 22-23.

They stole "Fish", by Auguste Renoir, "Still Life with Cherries" by Paul Cezanne, and "Odalisque on the Terrace" by Henri Matisse.

Italian news agency ANSA posted pictures of the stolen works on X:

How thieves stole the paintings

Local media reported that the thieves were able to force a door open, before nabbing the paintings and escaping across the museum gardens.

The suspects wore hoods to disguise themselves, the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of the Carabinieri police said, adding that they were reviewing museum CCTV footage as well as that of local businesses.

They believed a "structured and organized" gang was responsible for the theft.

The crime in Parma comes on the heels of a series of high-profile heists at major European museums, including an incident in October where theives made off with €88 million ($102 million) in jewels and other items from the Louvre in Paris.

Edited by: Natalie Muller