A one-minute raid on a Savoy palace

Three people broke into the Reggia di Venaria Reale, a Savoy royal residence near Turin, shortly after 2 a.m. on the night between Sunday 18 and Monday 19 October 2026. Their target was a display case in the Duke of Savoy's audience chamber on the piano nobile, reached along the visitor route just beyond the Galleria Grande designed by Filippo Juvarra. Early reconstructions suggest the intruders needed about a minute to get in, reach the case, smash it and leave with the watches. They escaped before the security service could intervene. The palace is closed to the public on Mondays, a detail that may have helped the thieves.

What was taken

The stolen pieces are 26 pocket watches from the 18th century, made in gold and enamel by English and French workshops and valued at about 150,000 euros. They came from a 2012 donation by the heirs of collector Giorgio Accornero to the Consorzio delle Residenze Reali Sabaude, the body that manages the residences. The collection was displayed along the visitor route on the piano nobile, in a case built to withstand impacts. Twenty-four antique snuff boxes shown in a case nearby were not taken. The stolen items are reported to be insured.

Pocket watches stolen26

Snuff boxes not stolen24

Pocket watches stolen

26 items

Snuff boxes not stolen

24 items

Data from the article text

Alarms, guards and the entry point

The Consorzio said all security systems were active and working during the theft, with the alarm regularly serviced and the armed guard service run by the firm Allsystems. According to Tgcom24, the alarm sounded and was linked to a control centre, and a staff member reached the room within moments, but the case was already empty. Accounts differ on how the intruders got in. La Stampa reports that a thin iron fence on the via don Sapino side was cut, Tgcom24 says they probably climbed the perimeter wall, and other reports describe a forced side door near the Caffè degli Specchi. Investigators are also trying to establish how the intruders knew the layout and the security systems in advance.

Investigation and a possible commissioned theft

Carabinieri from the Venaria company and the Turin provincial command are leading the inquiry, supported by experts from the Nucleo Tutela patrimonio culturale. Investigators are reviewing footage from the palace and have seized recordings from other cameras outside the complex. Those cameras may have recorded the group before the raid, since the intruders could have been in the area earlier. On 20 October, investigators returned to the audience chamber for another inspection in search of clues. Investigators are considering a commissioned theft, with a reconnaissance visit in the days before the raid also among the possibilities. Tgcom24 reports that prosecutors consider the thieves true professionals, but who ordered the theft and why remains unclear. La Stampa suggests the thieves may have believed the watches were worth much more, and asks why the snuff boxes were left behind, a question investigators are still trying to answer.