Publication Date: April 15, 2025
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.
If not for brave people willing to risk their lives, many of Italy’s great artworks would have been destroyed in World War II.
Inspired by the true story of masterpieces hidden away in a Tuscan villa, author Laura Morelli delivers a powerful slice of historical fiction with The Keeper of Lost Art.
Readers are introduced to young Stella, who is evacuated to safety in Tuscany to live with relatives. As a pre-teen forced to live with people she has never met and adjust to country life, she finds herself drawn to the beautiful paintings hidden in the villa.
Keeping such a big secret, especially when German soldiers take over the villa, is tough, especially when Stella makes friends with a young refugee boy.
The author demonstrates great respect and reverence for the artistic masterpieces, which include works from Botticelli. The bravery of the Italians shines through as their beloved country falls prey to the German invasion.
The Keeper of Lost Art offers an inspiring story of ordinary people willing to risk their lives for extraordinary reasons.
The first time I visited Venice as a wide-eyed teenager, I knew I was supposed to buy Murano glass, but I had no idea why.
All I knew was that I was whisked to the famous “glass island” on an overcrowded, stinky boat. I waited behind two dozen American and Japanese tourists to pay an exorbitant price for a little glass fish—what a bewildering experience!
Still, it was the artistic traditions of the world that inspired me to study the past. Living in Europe and Latin America, I realized that in many places, centuries-old craft traditions are still living traditions.
So began my quest to discover craftspeople passing on a special kind of knowledge to the next generation.
