R. A. Scotti

Tells the story of the theft of Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" from the Paris Louvre on August 21, 1911.

The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

Vanished Smile

Traces Pope Julius II's controversial early sixteenth-century construction of a new basilica in place of the Emperor Constantine's millennium-old St. Peter's Basilica, documenting how building efforts spanned two centuries and more than two dozen papacies while incorporating the contributions of such master artists as Michelangelo and Raphael. Reprint.

The Splendor and the Scandal: Building St. Peter's

Basilica

Rome in 1978 is the setting for this tale of a Pope allied with the Soviets and a trusted cardinal who becomes convinced he must betray the Prince of the Church he is sworn to serve

The Kiss of Judas

Late on the afternoon of Sunday, August 20 1911, three men strolled through the Louvre. Disguising themselves as museum staff they hid until nightfall. Sixteen hours later the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, had vanished. It took twenty-four hours for anyone in the museum to notice. When the alarm went out, the police rushed to the museum. The doors were locked, staff and visitors were detained, but the painting was long gone. France sealed her borders. And when the museum reopened a week after the theft, Parisians queued up in record numbers to view the blank space where the famous painting once hung. A huge police hunt continued, but months passed with no breakthrough in the case. It seemed that the theft of the Mona Lisa was the perfect crime. Two years later in Florence, art dealer Alfredo Geri received a letter signed 'Leonardo'. The Mona Lisa was for sale; the price half a million dollars. A meeting was arranged and 'Leonardo' was persuaded to let Geri remove the painting and take it to the Uffizi for authentication. The moment Geri left the hotel he called the police. Minutes later 'Leonardo' - aka Vincenzo Peruggia - was arrested. In a further twist, Peruggia was hailed as a national hero in Italy. He portrayed himself as a nationalist, who only stole back what rightly belonged to Italy. The Mona Lisa was brought back to Paris with much fanfare. But what of the other two men from the Louvre heist? Their story is even more incredible. Eduardo de Valfierno, an Argentine con man, was the brains behind the operation. Together with art forger Yves Chaudron, he planned a truly audacious crime. Chaudron forged six copies of the Mona Lisa. They then employed Peruggia to help steal the original. When news of the heist hit the international headlines Eduardo sold the six fakes to wealthy collectors, each of whom believed he was buying the original, netting the equivalent of $90 million in today's money. Neither man was convicted for their part in the theft. The whereabouts of the fakes remains a mystery.

The Extraordinary True Story of the Greatest Art Theft in History

The Lost Mona Lisa

"In the late afternoon of Sunday, 20 August 1911, three men strolled into the Louvre museum in Paris. Disguising themselves as museum staff they hid until nightfall. Sixteen hours later the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, had vanished. The theft of the Mona Lisa was the greatest crime ever to hit the art world. France closed her borders, a massive man-hunt was launched, even Picasso was a suspect - but all to no avail, the Mona Lisa had gone ntil two years later when a letter arrived in Florence signed Leonardo'; the painting was for sale. The Lost Mona Lisa uncovers the truth behind the crime of the century'. It is a story to rival the best detective fiction - a story of audacious thieves, art forgers, shadowy conmen, millionaire collectors, a global manhunt, and the most beautiful and enigmatic woman in the world, Mona Lisa Gioconda."

In the late afternoon of Sunday, 20 August 1911, three men strolled into the Louvre museum in Paris. Disguising themselves as museum staff they hid until nightfall. Sixteen hours later the most famous painting in the world, the Mona Lisa, had vanished. Th

The massive destruction wreaked by the Hurricane of 1938 dwarfed that of the Chicago Fire, the San Francisco Earthquake, and the Mississippi floods of 1927, making the storm the worst natural disaster in U.S. history. Now, R.A. Scotti tells the story.

R. A. Scotti

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