Built by the deranged moorish Comte Juan LaCastaigne in the 13th
century, Castaigne Castle rapidly gained a disturbing local reputation
as a haunted ruin after the Comte's mysterious disappearance. It was
hastily rebuilt during the Napoleonic wars by a French collaborator
claiming to be the heir of Castaigne. Alessandro Castaigne filled the
newly refurbished castle with strange and bizarre works of art
collected from all over the world. His descendants kept up the family
tradition and within several generations, the unusual family had
amassed the world's largest collection of eccentric and grotesque
artworks.
Seized by SS troops in Italy during World War Two, the Castle de
Castaigne was originally designated for an SS divisional headquarters
until the arrival a scant week later by scholars from Himmler's
personal staff. These aryan archeologists quickly deduced that the
site was an ancient armanist temple and began delving into the
castle's secrets. The Castaigne Collection was quietly packed up and
shipped to Berlin.
In November of 1944, the Art Looting Investigation Unit of the Office
of Strategic Services interrogated a suspected Karotechia officer.
They discovered that records concerning the Castaigne Collection were
being held at an SS office in Stuttgart. The civilian led American
Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic
Monuments in War Areas ("The Roberts Commission") was never informed
of this, and the matter became classified Delta Green.
The recovery of the documents as part of Operation SUMMER BREEZE went
smoothly, and the German records contained strong hints about the
unusual nature of the collection. However, no trace of the stolen
artworks could be found. War and Chaos had swallowed the nightmare
menagerie, and the Castaigne Collection was lost, concealed within the
swirling mists of history.
MiB
