The Cielo – A Novel of Wartime Tuscany

The Cielo
307 Pages
ISBN 978-1-60528-009-7

Trapped in a Tuscan farmhouse during WWII, a group of villagers overcome petty differences, confront betrayal by one of them, fearlessly house an escaped prisoner and survive a raid by the Nazis. As the brutal war continues all around them, a young girl finds love, two boys become heroes and secrets are revealed. Then an unthinkable event changes their lives forever.

Inspired by the experiences of the author’s relatives, The Cielo: A Novel of Wartime Tuscany is a riveting story of courage, endurance and the power of the human spirit in the cruelest of times

Paul Salsini

About Paul Salsini (Milwaukee, Wisconsin Author)

Paul Salsini

Paul Salsini is a veteran Milwaukee journalist who also taught in the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University for many years. He and his wife Barbara have three children and four grandchildren and live in Milwaukee, Wis. In 2011, he received the Sons of Italy’s Leonardo da Vinci Award for Excellence in Literature.

His father and materNal grandparents were born in the same village in Tuscany and he still has relatives there. He is the author of seven works of fiction set in Tuscany. Six are grouped in "A Tuscan Series": "The Cielo: A Novel of Wartime Tuscany" (The book received First Place in Fiction from the Council for Wisconsin Writers and First Place from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association); "Sparrow’s Revenge: A Novel of Postwar Tuscany"; "Dino’s Story: A Novel of 1960s Tuscany"; "The Temptation of Father Lorenzo: Ten Stories of 1970s Tuscany" (The book won First Place from the Midwest Independent Publishers Association and honorable mention from the Council for Wisconsin Writers.); "A Piazza for Sant’Antonio: Five Novellas of 1980s Tuscany" and "The Fearless Flag Thrower of Lucca: Nine Stories of 1990s Tuscany."

In 2019 he published another book set in Tuscany: "The Ghosts of the Garfagnana: Seven Strange Stories from Haunted Tuscany." He is also the author of a children's book, "Stefano and the Christmas Miracles."