"In one sense the Games is an interruption to that normal footfall, in another sense it is a massive opportunity in exposing new people to the building who ordinarily would not come here on a regular basis, " said Steven Lowy, co-chief executive of the Westfield Group.

CNN: Europe's largest shopping mall gets Olympics boost

Hot enough to melt the church bells, the Palm Sunday fire peeled five centuries of whitewash off the walls, exposing enormous Gothic frescoes painted when the building was erected.

FORBES: How An Art Forger Duped The Nazis By Counterfeiting The Middle Ages [Book Excerpt]