By Sara StevenDuring 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. (Synopsis courtesy of Goodreads)
Stories centered around war always get to me, and The Keeper of Lost Art really got to me in a way that made it difficult to stop reading, even with the pain and terror that Stella and her family endures. I’m familiar with World War II but didn’t know about the need to sequester Italian works of art for safekeeping. How incredible that a Tuscan villa’s inhabitants were tasked with that, willing to go so far as to risk their own lives for art, and the way it’s portrayed is perfection.
In the beginning, Stella is a young girl with a naive outlook on the world. Despite having her own experiences with the side effects of war while living with her mother in Torino, I could see the evolution of the young girl turned young lady, after she relocated to Villa Santa Lucia. Despite living with her aunt and uncle and cousins, she still feels like an outsider who is trying to navigate a strange new world that has been changed by the war. As the chapters progress, refugees and soldiers from various regiments become inhabitants of Villa Santa Lucia, with everyone trying to strike some sort of balance, even with the anxiety of not knowing what’s to come or what sort of outcome might come from opening their doors to others. For Stella, this way of life becomes commonplace, a normalcy thrown out into a rapidly changing abnormal world.
Stella’s friend Sandro becomes a lifeline for her. He represents safety and security. His love of art helps to open her mind to the ways in finding beauty within the backdrop of despair, and while I’m not a big art buff, I could appreciate the art that is hidden away and how studying it and discussing it soothes the tormented soul. Stella and Sandro mimic the art they’ve seen. Sandro looks on in wonder at the gorgeous paintings he most likely would never have been able to see close-up, had the war not placed him and the paintings together. When Stella’s uncle communes with the Madonna di San Sisto, the reader gets the sense that despite it all, there is a flicker of hope within the characters, even when the situation that surrounds them appears to be nothing short of hopeless.
There are a lot of descriptions within this story that emphasizes the importance of art, and not just the visual, but how the wonders of art can connect people; family, loved ones, and strangers alike. The Keeper of Lost Art really was engaging and made me feel connected to the long-revered Italian artists that I didn’t know much about before this reading experience, as well as the brave individuals who did something completely daring by doing all they could to preserve their Italian history. It was a five-star read for sure!
Thanks to William Morrow for the book in exchange for an honest review.
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