The Theft of Mona Lisa.

This article is about the theft of the most famous painting in the world - The Mona Lisa ( or La Gioconda in Italian ; 

La Joconde in French)

Mona lisa was stolen right from the wall of Louvre (Museum in Paris, France) on 21 August 1911. This crime was unimaginable by all. Shocked by the incident, the curator of Egyptian antiquities was contacted by the museum authorities. He, in turn, called the Paris police. About 60 investigators were sent over to the Louvre shortly after noon. They closed the museum and carried on their search.

Lourve, Paris.

Unfortunately, there was no evidence at all, except a fingerprint on the painting's frame.
The police didn't know what to do next. Some frenchmen blamed it on Germans, while Germans said it was a ploy by the French to distract from international concerns.

The public was restless and the investigators were searching, the Mona Lisa did not show up. Weeks went by. Months went by. Then years went by. The latest theory was that the painting had been accidentally destroyed during a cleaning and the museum was using the idea of a theft as a cover-up.

In the Autumn of 1913, an antique dealer Alfredo Geri placed an ad in almost all Italian newspapers the he was " a buyer at decent prices of art object of every kind" Soon after, Geri received a letter dated 29 November 1913, that the writer of the letter had the stolen mona lisa.

Geri then contacted Poggi, museum director of the Uffizi (museum in Florence, Italy). They together decided to write him back, regarding their place of meeting and price.

On December 10, 1913, an Italian man appeared at Geri's sales office in Florence. After waiting for other customers to leave, the stranger told Geri that he had the Mona Lisa back in his hotel room. He said he wanted half a million lire for the painting. He explained that he had stolen the painting in order to restore it to Italy what had been stolen from it by Napoleon. Thus, he gave the impression of being patriotic.

With some quick, clear thinking, Geri agreed to the price but said the director of the Uffizi (Poggi) would want to see the painting before agreeing to hang it in the museum. The man then suggested they meet in his hotel room the next day.

Upon his leaving, Geri contacted the police and the Uffizi.

The following day, at the hotel room , when they had a look at the mona lisa, they noticed and recognized the Louvre seal on the back of the painting. This was obviously the real Mona Lisa. Geri and Poggi, called the police who then, arrested the thief, whose real name was Vincenzo Peruggia.

Vincenzo Peruggia, police photograph

Vincenzo Peruggia, born in Italy, had worked in Paris at the Louvre in 1908. Still known by many of the guards, Peruggia had walked into the museum, noticed the place empty, grabbed the Mona Lisa, hid it inside his shirt, and walked out, as simple as that.

Peruggia hadn't had a plan to dispose of the painting; his only goal was to return it to Italy.

The painting was displayed throughout Italy before it was returned to France on December 30, 1913.

Peruggia was sentenced 1 year and 15 days imprisonment, but was released shortly afterwards due to patriotic intentions for stealing the mona lisa. He also served the Italian Army, during World War 1.

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