Sewer Jewelry Store Robbery in Florence

Thieves entered a jewelry shop through the sewer and stole an estimated €500,000 worth of merchandise in the early hours of May 22 in Por Santa Maria, between Ponte Vecchio and Piazza della Signoria. The forensics team and the police arrived at the scene and are conducting an investigation of the crime.

The staff of the jewelry shop, Gold & Florence, wasn’t aware of the robbery until Sunday morning at around 10 am, at the time of opening. No signs of forced entry were visible, but once the clerk raised the shutter to reveal the window merchandise, everything on display was gone. The safe was not opened or robbed.

The store clerk noticed there was an open manhole in the floor leading to the sewers of Florence in the display window area. The police investigation suggests that robbers appear to have entered and left the shop through the sewers, because no other signs of forced entry were detected.

Investigations suggest that the unconventional form of entry managed to avoid alarms and security guards because of the location of the manhole. The window portion of the store is blocked with opaque shutters that blind the street view, making it impossible to see commotion in the shop.  The thieves smashed the surveillance cameras.

City technicians have been working with the police to analyze the sewer system crime and to avoid this issue in the future.  There is an ongoing investigation.

To see a video, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site.