Saving Italy: The Race to Rescue a Nation's Treasures from the Nazis (58 page)

Monuments officer Lieutenant Fred Hartt, standing next to his jeep,
Lucky 13
. [Frederick Hartt Papers, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, Gallery Archives]

Fred Hartt digs through the remains of the Church of Santa Maria of Monte Oliveto in Naples in May 1944. [Pennoyer Papers, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University]

Deane Keller found a lifelong friend in Charley Bernholz. [Eric Bernholz Collection]

A high point of Keller’s military service was his chance meeting with fellow artist (and cartoonist) Bill Mauldin in Bologna in April 1945. [Deane Keller Papers, Manuscripts & Archives, Yale University]

German Generalfeldmarschall Albert Kesselring (upper photo, on right) personally supervised the work of engineers as they mined the bridges and adjacent streets of Florence, including the Ponte Vecchio (lower photo). Kesselring is standing in front of one of the many jewelry shops that line the famous bridge. In the foreground is a crate containing six five-kilogram bombs. Note the stacked empty bomb crates in the upper photo (far left). [Top: Bundesarchiv, Koblenz. Bottom: Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-480-2227-10A, Bayer photo]

An American B-26 Marauder passed over the severely damaged Ponte Vecchio even while the Germans still held the northern part of Florence. The Duomo and Giotto’s Bell Tower emerged relatively unscathed, but the buildings on both ends of the Ponte Vecchio were demolished. [Pennoyer Papers, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University]

To welcome Hitler and his entourage to Florence for his May 1938 visit, city officials made extensive preparations, including this floral design in the Piazzale Michelangelo. Six years later, the city’s bridges lay in ruins. Note the “Bailey bridge” built atop the surviving stone prows of the Ponte Santa Trinita. [Top: Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Munich/Heinrich Hoffman; Bottom: Pennoyer Papers, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University]

The “Bailey bridge,” which opened on August 17, 1944, reunited the northern and southern parts of the city. This photo, taken on December 2, 1944, shows the crush of foot traffic and bicycles. Note the
R
(
ricoveri
) on the corner of the Palazzo Spini Feroni, marking the nearest bomb shelter. Today the building is the world headquarters and flagship store of Ferragamo. [Pennoyer Papers, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University]

Allied forces in Italy constantly battled the weather, in addition to the enemy. Rain turned roads, like these near the Gothic Line, into mud so thick that vehicles often had to be abandoned in favor of pack mules to move supplies. [Pennoyer Papers, Department of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University]