The literary world of Giovanni Guareschi is set in Brescello, in 1950s Reggio Emilia, shortly after the end of the Second World War. Don Camillo and Peppone symbolize the clash between two opposing cultures which, precisely in the Fifties, crossed swords as they defended two different philosophies of living. On the one side was the traditional social context of Catholic Italy, staunch supporters of the Democristiano party, represented by parish priest Don Camillo, and on the other the revolutionary communist model, represented by the town Mayor, Peppone. But the political wrangling, which in real life was fierce and went on for decades, in Guareschi's novels becomes a way of reflecting in a good-natured, fun, sarcastic way, upon the anthropological models of the average Italian. When all is said and done, Don Camillo and Peppone are two sides of the one coin: two Italians with hearts of gold who, behind the facade of hostility, actually need one another. Fellow-villagers, they understand and respect one another: so, often split when it comes to local affairs, they are united in the face of outside adversities. They represent an ante litteram model of the "compromesso storico" (historical compromise).