Fontamara was first published in Zurich in 1933. Set in a small village in Abruzzo, the novel depicts the eternal conflict between the "cafoni" (peasants) and "cittadini" (city dwellers), dramatically intensified by the rise of Fascism.

The peasants and laborers, resigned and almost accustomed to enduring various catastrophes and abuses without resistance, find the strength to rebel when they realize the latest swindle plotted against them. This coincides with the emergence of the Fascist regime.

The central figure of the novel is Berardo Viola, who embodies the need to redeem a life of silence and passivity, a need that becomes essential and unavoidable for the other "cafoni" of Fontamara as well.