(see related)A small town in the
Po Valley whose council has been dissolved on charges it was
infiltrated by the mafia is the fictional setting for the saga
of Don Camillo, a character created by Italian writer and
journalist Giovannino Guareschi.
Don Camillo was based on the real-life Father Camillo
Valota, a Roman Catholic priest, World War II partisan and
concentration camp detainee.
In his fictional version, Don Camillo is on very close
terms with the crucifix in his town church, which speaks to him
in the voice of a gently chiding Christ, and is forever at odds
with Communist town mayor Peppone in postwar Brescello - which
currently has a museum dedicated to the two characters.
Guareschi's immortal squabblers, who often struck unlikely
alliances, were played in several classic film comedies by
Fernandel and Gino Cervi.
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