<Tr> <Th> Nationality </Th> <Td> Italian </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Known for </Th> <Td> theft of the Mona Lisa </Td> </Tr> <P> Vincenzo Peruggia (October 8, 1881--October 8, 1925) was an Italian thief, most famous for stealing the Mona Lisa on 21 August 1911 . Born in Dumenza, Varese, Italy, he died in Saint - Maur - des - Fossés, France . </P> <P> In 1911, Peruggia perpetrated what has been described as the greatest art theft of the 20th century . It was a police theory that the former Louvre worker hid inside the museum on Sunday, August 20, knowing the museum would be closed the following day . But, according to Peruggia's interrogation in Florence after his arrest, he entered the museum on Monday, August 21 around 7 am, through the door where the other Louvre workers were entering . He said he wore one of the white smocks that museum employees customarily wore and was indistinguishable from the other workers . When the Salon Carré, where the Mona Lisa hung, was empty, he lifted the painting off the four iron pegs that secured it to the wall and took it to a nearby service staircase . There, he removed the protective case and frame . Some people report that he concealed the painting (which Leonardo painted on wood) under his smock . But Peruggia was only 5'3 ", and the Mona Lisa measures approx. 21" x 30 ", so it would not fit under a smock worn by someone his size . Instead, he said he took off his smock and wrapped it around the painting, tucked it under his arm, and left the Louvre through the same door he had entered . </P>

Who was accused of stealing the mona lisa in 1911