Don Camillo

Don Camillo is a fictional catholic priest and the main protagonist in Giovanni Guareschi's satirical tales.

Related Topics:
Catholic - Giovanni Guareschi

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Don Camillo Tarocci (his full name which he rarely uses) is a hot-headed priest of an otherwise unnamed village in the Po river valley in northern Italy, in the early postwar period. He is constantly at odds with the communist mayor Peppone (whose real name is Giuseppe Bottazzi) and is also on very close terms with the crucifix in his village church. Through the crucifix he hears the voice of Christ.

Related Topics:
Don - Po river - Italy - Communist - Crucifix

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What Peppone and Camillo have in common is an interest in the well being of the village. They also appear to have been both anti-fascist guerilla fighters during the war; and while Peppone will make public speeches about how "the reactionaries" ought to be shot, and Don Camillo will preach fire and brimstone against "godless communists", they actually grudingly admire each other. Therefore they sometimes end up working together in peculiar circumstances, constantly squabbling, of course. Peppone takes his gang to the church and baptizes his children there (he opposes religion, of course, but you never know...) which makes him part of Don Camillo's flock.

Related Topics:
Fascist - Guerilla

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The Christ in the crucifix often has much more understanding for the foibles of the people than Don Camillo, and has to constantly but gently reprimand the priest for his impatience. Camillo loses his temper in occasion, and is sometimes involved in fist-fights, occasionally using a bench as a club. He is twice reprimanded for his behavior by the church.

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According to Guareschi, priests could break their staffs on his back for Camillo and communists kick him blue for Peppone, but Christ's voice came from his conscience.

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Many stories are satirical takes on real-world political divide between Italian Catholic Church and the Italian Communist Party, not to mention other worldly politics. Other tales are tragedies about schism, politically motivated murder and personal vendettas in a small village where everyone knows everyone else, but not everyone necessarily likes everyone else very much.

Related Topics:
Catholic Church - Italian Communist Party - Vendetta

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Sometimes the village is in trouble for the very real world floods of the Po river. Often either Camillo or Peppone tries to get an upper hand, but results may be unexpected, or the village gets a visitor, politician, cardinal or even youngsters from a rival village which usually bring their own problems.

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Once Don Camillo visits the Soviet Union pretending to be a comrade. And when the pop culture and motorcycles arrive, Don Camillo has his hands full with the struggle against "decadence", especially when the Christ mainly smiles benevolently on the young rascals.

Related Topics:
Soviet Union - Comrade

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The first Don Camillo story appeared in Guareschi's satirical magazine Candido in 1946.

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