As he walked out of the Louvre Museum is Paris, France, he looked like an average repairman. But what he carried was very unusual. Under his jacket, Vincenzo Perugia was carrying Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings in the world. And he was stealing it!
It sounds incredible, but it's a true story. On August 20, 1911, Perugia went into the museum and hid. He waited 15 hours until the next morning. On the day of the crime, the museum was closed for repairs. Perugia walked out into the museum wearing the same kind of clothes as the other repairmen. No one paid attention to him as he walked out the door!
Police looked all over the world-Russia, Japan, and Brazil. They even interviewed Perugia, but they let him go! Police continued to look for the painting . Two years passed before Perugia brought Mona Lisa to a man in Florence, Italy, who dealt in art. Florence is the city where Leonardo da Vinci painted Mona Lisa. Unfortunately for Perugia, the art deler called the police, who arrested him.
Perugia said he wanted to return Mona Lisa to its "real" home. The police believed he wanted to sell copies of the painting and keep the original for himself. To this day, nobody really knows why he did it.