Ebook: The Venus fixers: the remarkable story of the allied soldiers who saved Italy's art during World War II

Italian art goes to war -- Men must manoeuvre -- Sicilian prelude -- The birth of the Venus fixers -- The conflict of the present and the past -- Treasure hunt -- Florence divided -- A time to rend, a time to sew -- The duellists -- Epilogue: a necessary dream.;Often working as shellfire exploded around them, the Monuments Officers of Italy shored up tottering palaces and cathedrals, safeguarded Michelangelos and Giottos, and even blocked a Nazi convoy of stolen paintings bound for Göring's birthday celebration. Sometimes they failed. But to an astonishing degree they succeeded, and their story is an unparalleled adventure with the gorgeous tints of a Botticelli as its backdrop. --from publisher description.