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*Slug:* mona-lisa-stolen-louvre-1911-vincenzo-peruggia-theft-recovery-florence
*Meta description:* In 1911, the Mona Lisa disappeared from the Louvre. For two years, France had no idea where it was. Then a former worker tried to sell it in Florence.
*Category:* True Crime / Art Theft
*Thumbnail hook:* The world’s most famous painting was hidden in a Paris apartment trunk for two years — by a man who thought he could sell it.
*Tracking ID:* BM-CANDIDATE-088
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## Sources
**Wikipedia — Vincenzo Peruggia.** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincenzo_Peruggia — Full biography: born October 8, 1881, Dumenza; died October 8, 1925, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés; Louvre employment 1908-09; glass case installation; theft method August 21, 1911; hidden in false-bottom trunk; questioned and released by police; fingerprint mismatch; Alfredo Geri approach; December 1913 arrest; trial and sentence one year fifteen days reduced to seven months; Italian army WWI service. Notes Valfierno story sourced only to 1932 Karl Decker article.
**History.com — “The Heist That Made the Mona Lisa Famous.”** https://www.history.com/articles/the-heist-that-made-the-mona-lisa-famous — Full theft narrative: August 20-21 overnight entry, service stairway, locked door and plumber Sauvet, Louis Béroud finding empty wall August 22, week-long museum closure, crowds at empty wall, Apollinaire and Picasso questioned, investigative theories including J.P. Morgan and Germany, November 1913 Geri letter, December 1913 Poggi authentication and arrest, Italy tour, January 1914 return to Louvre, 120,000 visitors in first two days. Painting provenance: Leonardo to Francis I 1516, legally purchased, in Louvre since ~1800.
**Europeana — “Did Picasso Steal the Mona Lisa?”** https://europeana.eu/en/blog/did-picasso-steal-the-mona-lisa — Full account of Apollinaire-Picasso connection: Géry Pieret 1907 Louvre sculpture theft, sale to Picasso, use in *Les Demoiselles d’Avignon*, Pieret’s 1911 newspaper contact, Apollinaire’s arrest September 7 1911, La Santé prison, release September 12, Picasso questioned and denied knowing Apollinaire, judge Henri Drioux cleared both men.