A review by booksrockcal
Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis by Robert M. Edsel

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

4.5

I really enjoyed this follow up to the Monuments amen, focused on the efforts of art scholars Deane Keller and Frederick Hartt (future giant of the art history world) and their attempt to save the treasures of Italy. From the race to remove paintings from the Uffizi to get them to far away villas to the attempt to hunt down Cranach paintings looted by Goehring to the valiant and miraculous efforts to save DaVinci’s Last Supper from bombing runs on Milan, this book will have art lovers on the edge of their seats. It took so long for the world to realize the service these art historians turned Army men did for art, culture, and humanity - Edsel’s book is packed with information and little-known facts, including the role of German Colonel Karl Wolff in saving paintings and artifacts from certain destruction by his own forces.