Priceless paintings stolen from Valletta house

About 20 priceless paintings from the private collection of Giovanni Bonello, the Maltese judge at the European Court of Human Rights, have been stolen from a residence in Old Bakery Street, Valletta.

Sources said the collection included works by the 17th century Calabrian artist Mattia Preti, who lived in Malta and painted the ceiling of St John's Co-Cathedral.

The theft was discovered only yesterday morning when Judge Bonello's sister, Anna Xuereb, paid a regular visit to the residence of their late father Vincenzo.

Judge Bonello was yesterday making arrangements to fly home to follow police investigations more closely.

Police sources said it was difficult to determine the exact day when the theft took place since Mrs Xuereb had not visited the residence for the past two or three weeks.

The thief or thieves managed to get into the building by first pulling up a flimsy metal grating from the pavement, which gave them access to a small cellar situated right under the entrance hall of the house.

The building is situated at the bottom of Old Bakery Street and the road is conveniently poorly lit, which enabled the thieves to work under cover of darkness.

Once in the cellar they used special equipment to push up a stone slab and climbed into the hall with ease.

The sources said the thieves knew exactly what they were after. They chose the paintings they wanted and made their way out through the palatial front door of the building.

Judge Bonello is renowned for his love for art, a passion he inherited from his father (1891-1969) who was the curator of the Museum of Fine Arts between 1926 and 1937.