Rodolfo Siviero (24 December 1911 - 1983 ) was an Italian secret agent, art historian and intellectual, most notable for his important work in recovering artworks stolen from Italy during the Second World War as part of the 'Nazi plunder'. He was born at Guardistallo, the son of Giovanni Siviero, a Venetian non commissioned officer in the Carabinieri and commander of its local station, and his Sienese wife Caterina Bulgarini. He moved from the province of Pisa to Florence in 1924 and continued his studies in arts and letters at the University of Florence, with the aim of becoming an art critic. In the 1930s he joined the Servizio Informazioni Militare, Italy's secret service, and became a Fascist in the conviction that only a totalitarian regime could revolutionise and improve the country.