Villena remains a current figure in public life, cited in the news this week for involvement in a high-profile artifact heist in Venice and tied to ongoing historical research projects.
The Museum of Applied Arts in Vienna has reported a theft during Thursday’s exhibition. Two suspects smashed a display case and took a Van Cleef & Arpels necklace designed for a 1939 Egyptian royal wedding. No injuries are reported; police are pursuing the suspects amid a wave of European museum robberies.