Italian police recover paintings by Cézanne, Renoir and Matisse after heist

Italian police have recovered three paintings by the French masters Cezanne, Renoir and Matisse that were stolen from the Magnani Rocca Foundation near Parma in March, according to The Guardian. The works were valued at more than $10 million in total.

The theft was one of a string of high-profile raids on European museums this year, and the recovery stands out as a rare success for investigators during a difficult season for cultural institutions.

What to watch now is whether the recovery leads to arrests and what it reveals about the networks behind this year's museum thefts. For museums and the public alike, the case is a reminder both of how quickly treasured works can disappear and of how far police will go to bring them back.