He testified in the old prison in Florence in 1913, as 'perpetrator of the theft of the Mona Lisa' two years prior. He tells how he 'learned that a large quantity of paintings that were located in the Louvre had been stolen from Italy... From that point, a desire was born in me, and I felt indignant, given my pride in Italy, and it came into my mind to give one of those paintings back to Italy.'
Early on 21 August 1911, he dressed in a worker's smock that he had retained from working for a contractor at the museum. The glazing was intended partly to protect the masterpieces from protesting anarchists, though not climate protesters at this stage.
Peruggia mingled inconspicuously with early morning workers at the Louvre that day. He lifted the Mona Lisa from its two iron hooks and removed its frame in a stairwell. Tucked under his smock, the panel was smuggled back to his humble bedroom.
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