Priceless stolen Van Gogh paintings recovered in Italy

TWO Van Gogh masterpieces which were stolen from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam 14 years ago have been recovered from a house near Pompeii owned it is alleged by a member of the Naples Mafia.

There is an on-going investigation into the Mafia which has resulted in a number of arrests and the confiscation of large amounts of property including these two paintings by Italian police.

The original theft took place in December 2002 when thieves broke into the museum using sledgehammers to break smash a window on the first floor and stole the paintings despite the fact that there were security guards on patrol as well as infra-red security systems in place.

The paintings which were on loan from the Dutch government were uninsured as they were said to be priceless as  both depict scenes which were atypical since one is a seascape and the other is of his father’s church in Nuenen which Van Gogh painted for his parents.

The two paintings are said to be in good condition and should be returned to Holland once they are no longer required as evidence.