During World War II a girl makes an unbreakable connection with a boy sheltering in her
family’s Tuscan villa where the treasures of the Uffizi Galleries are hidden. A moving
coming-of-age story about the power of art in wartime based on true events. As Allied bombs
rain down on Torino in the autumn of 1942 Stella Costa’s mother sends her to safety with
distant relatives in a Tuscan villa. There Stella finds her family tasked with a great
responsibility: hiding nearly 300 priceless masterpieces from Florence including Botticelli’s
famous Primavera . With the arrival of German troops imminent Stella finds herself a stranger
in her family’s villa and she struggles to understand why her aunt doesn’t like her. She knows
it has something to do with her parents—and the fact that her father who is currently fighting
at the front has been largely absent from her life. When a wave of refugees seeks shelter in
the villa Stella befriends Sandro an orphaned boy with remarkable artistic talent. Amid the
growing threats Sandro and Stella take refuge in the villa’s “treasure room ” where the
paintings are hidden. There Botticelli’s masterpiece and other works of art become a solace
an inspiration and the glue that bonds Stella and Sandro as the dangers grow. A troop of
German soldiers requisitions the villa and puts everyone to forced labor. Now with the villa
full of German soldiers refugees a secret guest and hundreds of priceless treasures no one
knows who will emerge unscathed and whether the paintings will be taken as spoils or become
unintended casualties. Inspired by the incredible true story of a single Tuscan villa used as a
hiding place for the treasures of Florentine art during World War II The Keeper of Lost Art
takes readers on a breathtaking journey into one of the darkest chapters of Italy’s history
highlighting the incredible courage of everyday people to protect some of the most important
works of art in western civilization.
