The so-called thief, I believe many people think that this is quite mysterious, but also quite cool character. Because this kind of role almost only exists in the movie, it is fascinating to strategize under various deliberate renderings.
For example, the "Eleven Arhats" series, as well as the "Heavenly Demon Bandits" series, all make people shout excitement.
But in reality, there is really such a person who is recognized as a "thief". What is even more interesting is that he elevated the act of stealing to the level of "art" so that he enjoyed fame throughout the city, and the rich prided themselves on being his targets, and the police who should have arrested him became his confidants.
Vincenzo Pipino, is his name. In the same way that many people follow the path of thieves, during World War II, Vincenzo, who was born in Venice, Italy, often did not have enough to eat because of his poor family.
As the eldest of the family's five children, he assumed part of the family's responsibilities, but after the war, the whole of Venice was in a state of chaos, and Vincenzo found that even the laws that should govern people were in a sense blank.
To pass the time, he often took his younger siblings through the streets of town, sneaking food from the tables of restaurant guests when he was tired of playing.
Although the police often knew that Vincenzo was playing tricks, they could not catch Vincenzo at all.
Because the streets of Venice are narrow and long, even those who are familiar with the local environment, it is definitely not easy to catch up with a person in such an urban layout, and it may be easy to lose the target at the turn of a street.
(Urban layout of Venice)
Moreover, Venice is a famous "city on the water", with intricate waterways and various boats shuttling back and forth, which provides excellent conditions for Vincenzo's hiding.
In just a few short years, Vincenzo became a skilled pickpocket, and Vincenzo was only twelve or thirteen years old.
At that time, Vincenzo's mother was dissatisfied with her son's theft, so she fabricated a lie based on Vincenzo's fear of ghosts, telling Vincenzo that a neighbor in the family's apartment had been tripped by a ghost and broke his foot.
This "ghost" will catch the child running around the street and returning late. In this way, Vincenzo did not go through the main entrance every time he returned home, but climbed back to the room from outside the building, which honed Vincenzo's excellent freehand climbing skills.
In the 1960s, Vincenzo was young and strong, so whenever he succeeded, the police had difficulty arresting him, and his skillful climbing and hiding between buildings made the police helpless.
At the same time, many thieves steal things for themselves, but Vincenzo will sell stolen movie tickets to local children at low prices, and sometimes even give some of the stolen money directly to some poor children. This gave him a fairly good reputation among the poor people of the time.
(Vincenzo as a young man)
By the 1990s, Vincenzo had moved from petty theft to targeting the wealthy and a variety of valuable items. But interestingly, he has his own set of principles, as well as his own set of "art rules" for theft, and it is not too much to describe it as "theft is also a way".
When he sneaks into the rich man's house, he will not rummag around, nor will he steal the money of the rich man's family, but will only focus on the target of art and other objects, and leave as if there is no trace after winning. There is a saying among the venetian rich: "If he knocks over a jar of flavored sugar, he will even pour the sugar on a napkin without spilling it on the floor." "It can be seen that he has his own rules.
Moreover, after getting the items in hand, if the rich people want to retrieve the items, then they need to pay a certain amount of money, and when an unwritten agreement is reached, Vincenzo will "quietly" put the items back into the rich family at some point, and then pass on part of the money obtained to the local poor.
(Vincenzo of the "heyday")
Soon, Vincenzo received the title of "Gentleman Thief", which spread among the poor and the rich. Because he never uses knives, guns, etc. during the theft process, everything happens unconsciously, and sometimes even when the target person looks at the items, it is found that the items have been stolen.
The rich never know when They will be Targeted by Vincenzo, so it's strange that many rich people entrust him to other rich people in order to get a certain collection.
In the circle of the rich, being targeted by Vincenzo is a compliment to himself, because it proves that his collection has great taste and value, which is coveted by other rich people.
(Unruly Vincenzo)
In addition, museums with collections of incalculable value are also one of Vincenzo's goals.
(Giustiniani Palace)
In fact, although the museum is an open place, with guards and visitors mixed together, and it is difficult to estimate the number of eyes staring at different collections, Vincenzo is able to steal the collection without knowing it.
The 1730s oil painting Il Fonteghetto della Farina, which he had stolen in Giustiniani's palace at the time, was later known how he stole it.
(《The flour fountain》)
In broad daylight, he breaks into people's houses or museums and steals from them, and Vincenzo is supposed to be a target for the police. But his charming demeanor, "gentlemanly" thief style, and reputation among the rich and the poor made it hard for people, including the policemen, to hate him.
He was arrested as a police officer, but in fact many people became friends with him, one of whom was Antonio Palmosí.
Over the course of years of hunting, Antonio and Vincenzo became similar to those of Abbagno and Schaver in Cat and Mouse Games. Sometimes they hunt and escape, sometimes they mock each other, and sometimes they are confidants who enter each other's hearts.
(Agent Antonio Palmosí)
What may be hard to believe is that Vincenzo has in some sense elevated the level of stealing.
The rich like to show off their wealth, thieves like to steal it, and the rich will reach a "negotiated agreement" with the police to get the items back. The delicate balance between this is that the rich show off their taste by being stolen by themselves, the police regain their belongings from Vincenzo and make a difference, while Vincenzo himself makes a living by helping some of the poor.
Vincenzo's lifetime is estimated to have carried out 3,000 thefts of art, as well as gold, jewelry and others whose value is difficult to estimate. His title of "Gentleman Thief" has been spread far and wide. And throughout his life of theft, it has to be mentioned that Vincenzo's theft case in 1991.
(Corner inside the Doge's Palace)
At that time, his fame attracted the attention of the mafia, which asked him to steal valuable works of art for the organization, but this would undoubtedly break the balance he had built over the years between the rich and the police, so he decided to do a big case.
On 9 October 1991, he disguised his identity and appearance, and then followed a tour group into the Doge's Palace, a place where the Governor once lived and now a museum.
Needless to say, the collection is worth itself, and it is known as the most heavily guarded museum in All of Italy. Inside, a painting of the national symbol, Madonna col Bambino, is stored at that time.
He found the crack in the surveillance, hid in the corner of the building, stayed late at night near the next morning, bypassed the guards and various security facilities, stole the Madonna col Bambino hanging on the wall 4 meters high, and transported it out of the Doge's Palace.
How important is this painting to Venice? It is like the nature of the U.S. Constitution to the United States. So when the guards discovered that Madonna col Bambino had been stolen the next day, the news spread throughout Italy.
Antonio soon learned that this was Vincenzo's case, so he found him in the old place and restricted his return within 20 days, otherwise most of the police force would be deployed to pursue Vincenzo.
It was all arranged by Vincenzo, who found the right moment to sneak into the mafia's custody of Madonna col Bambino, steal the portrait, and then return it to law enforcement within a 20-day deadline.
How did this all happen? Still no one knows. At the same time, because the case caused too much of a sensation, the mafia was re-stolen by Vincenzo and could only be silent, in order not to attract the attention of the authorities.
Of course, stealing is also against the law, and Vincenzo spent 20 years in prison in his decades of stealing. But that's just a number, because he escaped from prison many times, committed crimes, and then was taken back to prison again.
Because his life can really be described by the word "legendary", even if he is a thief, there are endless documentaries about him. On the one hand, people wanted to spy on his incredible theft. On the other hand, I want to go into the heart of this "thief and a way" thief and feel the inner world of this theft.
Many people think that for Vincenzo, the accumulation of wealth has reached unimaginable levels, but it is ironic that he is now old and only lives on a meager pension and wife. Because in the past theft, Vincenzo stole famous things, which are difficult to sell on the black market.
In addition, he largely transferred the stolen money to the poor, so he did not save much wealth for himself.
Perhaps it is more appropriate to describe his life of theft in a phrase that Vincenzo said: "Stealing from the rich is not a sin, just a crime."
Wandering the world of white and black, he has been stealing all his life but is respected by the title of "gentleman thief". Perhaps such a reputation is only for Vincenzo.