Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley door pickup 10am - 7pm 3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
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  • Open Daily: 10am - 10pm
    Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm

    3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
    612-822-4611

Open Daily: 10am - 10pm | Alley-side Pickup: 10am - 7pm
3038 Hennepin Ave Minneapolis, MN
612-822-4611
The Big Fake: The True Story of Antonio Chichiarelli, Master Forger

The Big Fake: The True Story of Antonio Chichiarelli, Master Forger

D. Harris, Elaine

Paperback

Biographies General

Currently unavailable to order

ISBN13: 9798279169276
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: Dec 20 2025
Pages: 94
Weight: 0.30
Height: 0.19 Width: 6.00 Depth: 9.00
Language: English
What if the greatest masterpiece wasn't a painting, but a lie that changed history?

In the shadowy streets of 1970s Rome, where art met crime and politics danced with terror, one man possessed a gift so extraordinary it became his curse. Antonio Chichiarelli could forge anything-Renaissance masterpieces, political documents, even truth itself. But his talent didn't just fool art collectors and gallery owners. It allegedly helped shape one of the darkest chapters in Italian history.

Tony was supposed to be a painter, an artist with hands blessed by genius. Instead, he became something far more dangerous: a master forger whose signature appeared on De Chirico paintings, Guttuso canvases, and documents that sent police searching frozen lakes while a kidnapped politician counted his final hours. When Italy's former Prime Minister Aldo Moro was held captive by terrorists in 1978, someone needed to create a false communiqué-a fake so perfect it would mislead an entire nation. That someone was Antonio Chichiarelli.

But forgery was just the beginning. Tony moved through Rome's criminal underworld like a ghost, connected to everyone and loyal to no one. The Banda della Magliana knew him. Sicilian mafia bosses trusted him. Neo-fascist terrorists and left-wing extremists both sought his services. He was the man who could make anything look real, and in a country where reality itself was negotiable, that made him invaluable.

Then came the heist. On March 23, 1984, Tony and his crew walked into the Brink's Securmark vault and walked out with 35 billion lire-the biggest robbery in Italian history. They left behind false evidence, staged photos mimicking terrorist propaganda, and enough mysteries to fuel decades of speculation. For six glorious months, Tony lived like a king. New cars, real estate, cocaine deals, and the high life he'd always dreamed about. He had pulled off the impossible.

But in a world built on deceptions, someone always knows your secrets. And Tony knew too many secrets belonging to too many dangerous people. On September 28, 1984, on a quiet Roman street, six bullets ended the life of Italy's most notorious forger. His girlfriend survived with a bullet through her skull. Their infant son slept peacefully in the back seat, unaware that his father was dying on the pavement. The murder was professional, brutal, and has never been solved.

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