No. 11 in the Don Camillo seriesMore shrewd and colourful observations of life in Italy’s widest and most fertile plain, stories so authentic and telling that time and again they reverberate with insights relevant not only locally but also internationally, and even to our lives today. Guareschi mines his satire with an eye for paradox. War creates unity (Peppone battles side-by-side with Don Camillo in the Italian Resistance). Then peace spells conflict as the communist mayor and village priest find themselves the local bigwigs in all-out war between East and West. Meanwhile, Christ above the altar in the village church is, with wisdom and gentle humour, still striving to keep the peace between the two titans, their minds clouded with ideology and the need to win.