Knihu mi doporučil a půjčil táta mého kamaráda, stejně jako pár knih předtím. Motivací ke čtení bylo společné téma, kterých bylo vždy pomálu, ovšem pak se kniha četla sama. Malá vesnice Santa Vittoria existuje daleko od všech problémů probíhající války, je jí jedno, kdo zrovna je u moci. Samozřejmě dokud nezačne být v ohrožení to nejcennější, co ve vesnici lze nalézt- víno. A tak se obyvatelé musejí spojit, aby ukryly milion láhví nejlepšího vína před německými vojáky, jejichž velitel se rozhodl vesnici obsadit a o víno oloupit bez násilí. I přes téma obsazení města je kniha humorným románem, ve kterém se seznamujeme s obyvateli města, jejich potížemi, životem a hlavně myšlenkami. Kniha mě velmi bavila a doporučila bych ji každému, kdo hledá něco lehčího na odreagování. I přes tu jednoduchost schovává kniha poselství pro každého. Mně jako vždy ukázala, že jednání lidí nelze dělit nutně na špatné a dobré. Ostatně to je boj, který se bojuje stále dokola.

I read this book when I was 16 and it was the only book that made me laugh out loud. I just loved it! What a pity Robert Crichton wrote only two books.

This is a forgotten gem of a book which apparently spent 18 weeks at the top of the New York Times bestseller list. I saw the film when I was about 13 and, with it having stayed in my mind ever since, I decided to read the book. It was a good decision.

There are strong similarities between this book and Captain Corelli's Mandolin, with them being of very similar quality (unlike the respective films). It begins with the portrayal of a peaceful but characterful Italian village waking to the news of Mussolini's death. I can't speak for the accuracy of the portrayal of 1940's Italian village life, but it was certainly convincing, and distracting to the point of escapism, with strong echoes of The Little World of Don Camillo.

Gradually the war intrudes and, as with Captain Corelli, a group of soldiers arrives to occupy the town. Simple native wisdom ("All men can be reached by flattery, even God can. (What, after all, is prayer?") competes with cold, disciplined logic in a battle of wits, wills and cultures to try and protect the town's store of wine, without which the people would not survive. Eventually, and without wishing to give away any spoilers, the battle of wits turns brutal.

Terrific stuff and well worth a read. This is a book which deserves to be rediscovered.

For many years, this was my favorite book. A beautiful, comical story of a very small town in the mountains of Italy in WWII, the book features some unforgettable characters and one of the best prologues I can remember. It will make you laugh, cry and rejoice at the resiliency of the human spirit.

Old book but one of the most memorable I've read. Italy, wine, comedy, suspense, it has it all!

A charming read. Have been recommending it to my wine loving friends.

Enjoyed reading about this quirky little town and it's odd cast of villagers. The Germans were not kind and the war crimes are harsh to read about. The personalities were larger than life, the dilemma they faced brought this bumbling group of villagers together in an unexpected way. End tended to drag. This book enticed me to watch the movie and I was not disappointed in the theatrical adaptation.

The Secret of Santa Vittoria based on the book by Robert Crichton
9 out of 10


This film has been included in the program of a television channel the other day and seeing it has brought back memories of some decades ago – I would say at least three, but less than four – when watching Anthony Quinn was so exhilarating…he was the titan in Zorba the Greek http://realini.blogspot.com/2014/05/z... based on the book by Nikos Kazantzakis, which was included on the list of 100 Greatest Books of All Time, compiled by the luminaries of our age

Anthony Quinn was also instrumental, one of the key artists in what could be the best motion picture of all time, Lawrence of Arabia http://realini.blogspot.com/2017/07/l... - it is clearly one of the top five or ten for this cinephile – and one of his lines stays with me ‘I am a river to my people’ something his character says when challenged by Lawrence, before the siege of Aqaba, I think it was, and this sheik insists that he is not doing it for the money, plunder, since he is so generous, and I found that inspiring, I often used the quote, especially since it has this self-deprecating ability, double meaning in fact, not having much to be a river with, then there are few that expect much, if anything from me, and thus boasting about it does not imply any costs
The Secret of Santa Vittoria takes place near the end of World War II, at the time when Mussolini falls and the Nazis start withdrawing, pressed by the allies that would win, with victory Day celebrated on May 9 for the war in Europe and then later, after the atomic bombs are dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for the conflagration in the Pacific, and Santa Vittoria is a small town, of a little over one thousand inhabitants, somewhat unfazed by the conflict, spared the intense calamity, because it is so unimportant in strategic terms, tiny and away from the route of the great war…

That had been the situation before we enter the plot, for though they had been spared so far, things will get complicated and the Nazis will be coming to town…but first, Fabio, a young, brave, intrepid, passionate man comes to his town to announce that Mussolini is gone, only to see that the locals have no reaction to this news, indeed, the former dictator had been quite popular with his compatriots, including the main character of the narrative, Bombolini aka Anthony Quinn, who had written on the big water tower ‘Mussolini is always right’ – something that in my youth, after seeing this film that I had enjoyed so much, I would paraphrase and placed in my room, at my parents’ house, stating ‘Realini is always right’ in larger letters, and then adding, in respect to democracy, in small print ‘here’, as if to admit that my opinion, preferences may not prevail in general, but hey, in my room at least, it is what counts
Drunk Bombolini climbs up on the water tower, to paint over his stupid slogan, only to find that he is too tired, and inebriated probably, or most likely, to do the job, and furthermore, he is in danger of falling to his death, when Fabio comes to his rescue, with a rope and they have a discussion on top of the town, with the population gathered to see the catastrophe taking place…this where the clown – as they sometimes call him – explains that Mussolini had promised roads, schools and it had seemed so beautiful

The clown becomes the mayor – ‘jesters do oft prove prophets’ said Shakespeare, but then he has also created the most reviled villain, Richard III, who in reality has been nothing of the kind…The Daughter of Time http://realini.blogspot.com/2020/10/t... by Josephine Fey has been voted the best Mystery Novel by the Crime Writers Association CWA and it has inside the incredible investigation into the alleged murders committed because Richard III had ordered them, with the revelation that the infamous king had been innocent and thus we have here one of the myths of history and one of the greatest injustices, since most of humanity has not read the Daughter of Time, alas, and considers Richard III one of the most loathsome humans in history, against the evidence
It may look like the wrong move, after all, the image of Trump comes up, whenever I mention idiot, stupid, calamity I tend to think of the most extraordinary degradation I have seen, it is not just that the man is an absolute disaster, but to think that tens of millions in the USA (and he had fans all around the globe, I have to argue with the ones that pop up at the sauna Downtown on a regular basis) have voted and are ready to do so again, next year – he has a chance in three at this stage, according to an article in The Economist, to be the next leader of the world – is mind boggling and destroys another myth

When the Nazis are announced, the locals panic, because they have over one million bottles of wine – and Bombolini says that without the wine, they are nothing’ – and they are worried that the Germans will take their treasure away, in revenge against the former ally, that is now ready to fight against them, and the mayor is unable to think of a way out, until it is suggested to them, the countess I think it was who came with the idea, the people start moving the cases of wine, with mules, carts and all.
However, traffic comes to a stop, cases fall and the wine is spilled, because there is a frenzy and the chaos creates roadblocks, until another clever tactic is envisaged and all the locals are lined up, at a sign, they pass bottles from one to the other, starting from the initial storage, ending where thy have to hide them from the invaders, a timetable is set, then they establish a figure to play the game with the occupiers

Now for a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/02/u... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Why am I limited to 5 stars? I give this book 10 stars. Maybe 11! It has something for...literally...everyone.

Drama
History and war
Tension/conflict
Scenery/descriptive prose
Wit and self-effacing humor
Morals and consequences
Heartbreak beyond tears
and Thunderbolt love.

And hilarious stereotypes! Although if I were German or Italian, I'm sure I would be incensed and insulted. Yet on the other hand, the stereotypes were mostly assumed by the characters (even by themselves) and then later proved...well, I hate spoilers so I won't ruin the best part.

I understand there really was a village in Italy that hid their wine from the Germans, but beyond that I believe the rest is the author's invention, and WHAT an imagination he had. You will love every single character, good and bad and mostly both good/bad. You will want to live in this town and harvest the grapes, climb the water tower, eat the cold beans, drink from the wine fountain, crush the grapes with Lorenzo and feel the depth of despair and the victory of the martyrs.

And now, I plan to watch the movie, but I can't see how it can ever equal my complete pleasure and satisfaction when I read the last page at 12:37pm this morning.

This book is about the heroic story of a cute charming village in Italy that prevents the German army which is evacuating from seizing the town's inventory of wine. You may think that the premise is thin but in 1966 it was enough to keep the book on the best seller list for over a year. I read it as a sixteen year-old and was shocked at how banal and trivial it was.
It served to teach me the valuable lesson that most successful books are quite dreadful.

After visiting some of the hilltowns in Tuscany, I wondered what it would have been like to live through WWII there. Based on a true story and the author 's personal experience, the book clearly told the story of one small village and their ordeal. It was light and humorous, insightful and introspective, and the narrator was excellent! In my mind I placed the book in Montepulciano, the heart of wine making country and a town with many of the same characteristics as the one in the book. The characterization of the townspeople was spot on; they came alive, as did their German occupiers.

Quite a gem!

From The Independent: They thus missed the book's remarkable strengths: its versatile depiction of characters, its unpretentious but subtle prose. Based on the true story of an Italian village that hid its wine from occupying German forces, and probably derived from Crichton's own experiences as an American infantryman fighting his way up Italy, The Secret of Santa Vittoria painted a rich tableau of foreign life for notoriously parochial American readers. Comic, occasionally mawkish, the novel can still veer sharply away from excessive sentimentality. Having bamboozled the dozy occupying Germans, for example, the village's inhabitants find a different treatment in store when a crack Wehrmacht unit retreats through their town:

They never looked at us. They moved through us with the assurance of men who know that if so much as one shot was fired at them by some Renaissance fighter, they would burn the town to the ground.

Interesting story, no need to repeat the premise. I found it a bit strange that the first part is almost farcical. The Mayor Bombolini and all the characters around him. But there is also a sense of foreboding, that is realized later in the book. I suppose it has a fairy tale quality but not all fairy tales have a happy ending, so you I stayed interested to find out what happens. It had neither the character development, or plausibility to make a great novel, but as I said interesting story.