Set amidst the drama of Fascist Italy, Francesco’s Song is the gripping story of one man’s struggle to survive. Inspired by family history, C.M. Furio tells the poignant story of young Francesco as he grows up in the small seaside town of Mola di Bari. The saga of birth, love and death in rural southern Italy unfolds as the country is pulled into the cataclysm of world events. Francesco’s carefree youth ends when the oratory of Mussolini and the pervasive false sense of patriotism seduce him and he joins the military police of the Italian armed forces, the Carabinieri Reali. Stationed in Yugoslavia and later in Milan, he finds everything he treasures threatened as he confronts events during the war and witnesses firsthand the destruction of his homeland. Fleeing the occupying Nazis, Francesco is sheltered by sympathizers of a growing resistance movement. He enters the darkest period of his youth, in which his only dream is to be reunited with his family and Francesca, the love of his life. Based on letters and war-time documents found in the author’s family home, Francesco’s Song is a moving portrayal of the struggles of the Italian people during the war years and the customs that bound them. It is the story of an immigrant who never lost love for his homeland, and who valued family above all else.