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The propaganda was not entirely successful. By 1940, as Italy entered the war alongside Germany, the "Raphael on the Road" narrative collapsed. American public opinion turned sharply against the Axis. Many of the masterpieces were hastily returned to Italy, some ending up hidden in country villas or monastery basements to protect them from Allied bombings.
These were not just artworks. In the travel manifests, they were listed as Oggetti di culto nazionale – Objects of national cult. The propaganda was not entirely successful
The exhibition known as the Mostra del Rinascimento Italiano (Exhibition of the Italian Renaissance) at the World’s Fair in San Francisco, followed by an extended tour across American museums, was a spearhead of Fascist propaganda. Under the command of the Ministry of Popular Culture (MinCulPop), Benito Mussolini’s regime deployed the ghost of Raphael to conquer the hearts of Americans while back home, racial laws stripped Jewish Italians of their citizenship. Many of the masterpieces were hastily returned to
a historical study by Lorenzo Carletti and Cristiano Giometti that explores a little-known episode of cultural diplomacy: the shipment of 28 Italian Renaissance masterpieces to the United States on the eve of World War II Core Narrative The exhibition known as the Mostra del Rinascimento
Originally intended for San Francisco, the exhibition’s success—and the regime’s desire for maximum impact—led to a "coast to coast" tour.