50 pieces of art including gold statues and jewellery are stolen in €1million heist from estate overlooking Lake Garda - just one day before the exhibition was set to close

A staggering 50 gold pieces of art including statues and jewellery was stolen during a one-million-euro heist just a day before the exhibition of the items was set to end.

The 20 golden statues and 30 pieces of jewellery were stolen from the Museo d'Annunzio Segreto - a hillside estate overlooking the popular tourist destination, Lake Garda.

Crafted by the Italian sculptor Umberto Mastroianni between 1950 and 1990, the pieces that were taken came with a total staggering price tag of €1 million (£850,000).

The stunning items had been on display since December, but on Thursday morning, just a day before the exhibition was set to close its doors, managers found the display cases had been ransacked.

Along with golden statues, rings, bracelets, pins and brooches were also snapped up by the thieves during their sensational heist. 

The items were crafted by the Italian sculptor Umberto Mastroianni between 1950 and 1990

The stunning pieces had been on display since December, but on Thursday morning, just a day before the exhibition was set to close its doors, managers found the display cases had been ransacked 

But one of the pieces reportedly remained on the floor, presumed to have been dropped as the crooks dashed off.

The theft was confirmed by Giordano Bruno Guerri, the president of the estate which once belonged to Gabriele D'Annunzio, a famous Italian poet.

'The good news is that a piece has already been recovered,' Guerri said in a statement. 

'Fortunately, nothing of D'Annunzio's legacy has been touched.'

Italy's art police, The Carabinieri of the Cultural Heritage Protection Unit of Monza, are now investigating the the robbery but no updates have been given.

Officers recovered images of the heist from the video surveillance systems and further details are set to be shared tomorrow.

Local newspaper Brescia Today claimed the crafty thieves entered the museum through a service door and deactivated the security alarm.

The Vittoriale degli Italiani citadel, built in Gardone Riviera on the shores of Lake Garda by Gabriele d'Annunzi

'What happened at the Vittoriale is a very serious event,' Francesca Caruso, the councillor for culture in the Lombardy region, told the newspaper. 

'It is a cowardly gesture that has struck one of the highlights of Lombardy's culture.

'I hope the works will be found as soon as possible and those responsible be brought to justice.'

In the same exhibition space, works by another master goldsmith, Buccellati, were also on display but reportedly left untouched. 

Mastroianni, who died in 1998, was one of the most renowned Italian artists of the 20th century.