Fact 166: Has the Mona Lisa ever been stolen?

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Fact 166: Has the Mona Lisa ever been stolen?



The answer is yes, the Mona Lisa which was painted by the Italian painter Leonardo da Vinci in the 16th century sometime between 1503 and 1519 has been stolen once by an Italian Louvre employee called Vincenzo Peruggia. Vincenzo Peruggia didn't steal the Mona Lisa for money instead in the hope of returning the painting to Italy (Florence) so in fact he did it in an act of Italian patriotism and this is why he decided to steal the painting on the 21st August 1911.
Vincenzo Peruggia brought the Mona Lisa to Florence however he got caught in Florence (Italy), (unsurprisingly because the painting is still, to this day is hanging on a wall in the Louvre gallery in Paris) the painting was returned to the Louvre gallery on the 12th December 1913. 


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