The Secret of Santa Vittoria is a 1966 novel by American author Robert Crichton.
Italy, 1943: Mussolini has been ousted from power, and change is coming to the village of Santa Vittoria. The supposed village idiot, Italo Bombolini, has been appointed the new mayor. German occupiers are heading for the village, and a sense of panic arises about what to do with the local supply of unique wine (more than a million bottles in all). A plan comes to hide it from the Germans, led by Captain Sepp Von Prum. The plan succeeds, and for a time the Germans are none the wiser. However, they gradually come to realize that they have been deceived, and work feverishly to find the wine, going to increasingly grim lengths.
A film adaptation, directed by Stanley Kramer and starring Anthony Quinn, Virna Lisi, Hardy Krüger, Sergio Franchi and Anna Magnani, was released in 1969. It was nominated for six Golden Globe Awards (winning for Best Motion Picture–Comedy or Musical) and two Academy Awards.
This novel contains examples of:
- Affably Evil: Von Prum and Traub.
- Awful Wedded Life: Save for a single moment near the end. Bombolini and his wife have no warmth or affection between them, either before or after he becomes mayor.
- Batman Gambit: Because Torture Always Works, when Von Prum declares that he will have five people tortured to find out the truth, Bombolini tells him that he's asked for volunteers, only to have the people send out several of the Fascist officials who've been held captive (and really don't know where the wine is) out into the square, telling them that they're being released and that there's someone in the square who wants to see them.
- But Now I Must Go: Bombolini implies that he'll leave town at the end, as does Roberto.
- Captain Smooth and Sergeant Rough: Von Prum and Traub, although by the end of the story Von Prum is a lot less smooth and Traub has slightly softened.
- Confess to a Lesser Crime: The villagers deliberately hide a smaller quantity of wine (300,000 bottles) elsewhere, to pretend to hide and then give up to placate the Germans. It works, but only for a while.
- Deadpan Snarker: Rosa, Bombolini's wife who cannot stand him.
- Death Seeker: Letters from Captain Von Prum's brother, a soldier on the Russian Front, make it clear that he's becoming one, and his last letter outright states that he's going to let himself get killed.
- Defiled Forever: Tufa's reaction to learning that his lover slept with Von Prom to keep him from being executed.
- The Dividual: Torture Technician's Hans and Otto.
- The Dragon: Sergeant Traub.
- Excrement Statement: People form a neighboring village pee on the villagers upon thinking they gave up all of the wine to the Germans.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Von Prum and Traub disipline one of their motorcyclists harassing Angela that prompted Fabio to leap to her defense following by apologizing to Bombolini for his undisciplined soldier's crime. He also does have a couple My God, What Have I Done? moments as well, most notably when he fails to call off an execution in time. Then when a SS Lieutenant tries to brutally interrogate Bombolini for the wine, he disapproves of it and stops the beating while he also seek for the rest of the wine. Later, Von Prum ultimately Know When to Fold 'Em when he reveals he Would Not Shoot a Civilian after trying to bluff threatening the town for their wine.
- Fantastic Racism: Many of the Germans display this towards the Italians. The American bomber crew also display this towards the one Italian in their crew, considering him to be disloyal and untrustworthy now that they are taking the fight to his homeland (even while admitting that they would react with violence at someone asking them to bomb their own homes).
- The Fool: Bombolini has this reputation, although he quickly matures with real power. He stumbles into the mayors office because the crowd was cheering for him for painting over a sign praising Mussolini at the top of the water tower, and the city officials about to surrender mistook that sound for the mob proclaiming him their leader.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Babbaluche the cobbler who lets himself be executed as a hostage (deliberately rigging the drawing to see who the hostage will be).
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The surrounding villages think that the people of San Vittoria really did give up all of their wine and viciously mock them for it.
- I Shall Taunt You: Once Von Prum and his men are finally being forced to leave, Bombolini confirms to him that there really was wine there that they couldn't find, and that he isn't telling them where it was, to let them agonize over it for the rest of their lives.
- Just Following Orders: Repeated by many of the German soldiers, unsurprisingly.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: The Fascist village council decides to quickly and dramatically surrender before anyone decides to kill them, and due to mistaking Bombolini for the leader of the mob, bestow the mayor's chain on him.
- Last-Minute Reprieve: Subverted with the story of of a condemned criminal from centuries earlier, who was Defiant to the End when suddenly he received a 30-day stay of execution. When the thirty days were up, the authorities had reviewed his case and decided not to spare him after all, but that previous Hope Spot caused him to go to the gallows unwillingly, desperately hoping for a second reprieve due to no longer being prepared to die like he had been the first time. In the main story Von Prum stops Tufa's execution due to his lover offering herself to him.
- La Résistance: Fabio is the only character to really resist the Axis in any capacity besides hiding the wine.
- Lighter and Softer: The film adaptation, which omits a lot of the torture (specifically the details of it), Von Prem's darker nature, Tufa's Defiled Forever feelings towards his girlfriend, Von Prum's suicidal brother, and the execution.
- Love at First Sight: The Italian belief in this is discussed from time to time.
- Mistaken for Profound: After giving Bombolini the mayors chain, the village officials are assuaged when he walks up to the mob and says something that gets them cheering again. It turns out, all he said was that it was time to drink wine.
- My Country, Right or Wrong: Von Prum is a firm believer in faithfully serving an unjust leader. His brother isn't, based on the content of his letters.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Bombolini does feel some guilt over the gruesome success of his Batman Gambit. Von Prum does have a couple moments as well, most notably when he fails to call off an execution in time.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Many of the townspeople aren't too concerned about the overthrow of Mussolini until Babbaluche points out that it removes the protection awarded to the local Facist party officials, and they deliver a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to the first one to arrive on the scene.
- Paperworkaholic: Von Prum is a meticulous keeper of records, and copies all of his personal correspondence (being forced to leave a lot of it behind when he leaves town).
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Bombolini gives Von Prum a fairly restrained one for all he did, and did of his own free will, trying to get them to reveal the wine.
- Right Under Their Noses: The wine is actually hidden inside a building the Germans take for their bomb shelter.
- Sanity Slippage /Took a Level in Jerkass: Von Prum, as he fails to find the wine.
- Shotgun Wedding: Lugo, the electrician who makes a generator to keep the wine refrigerated, was apprenticing in Switzerland before, when he came home for his father's funeral, he knocked up a girl who outright threatened to have her family kill him if he didn't come back and marry her (with his visa expiring while he was back there).
- Sociopathic Soldier: Many of the Germans, naturally, especially as things don't go their way. Also an American bomber crew who makes a brief appearance, bombing a nearby village simply to get rid of their load.
- Those Wacky Nazis: Von Prum, his men and his superiors get portrayed with a mixture of bumblingness and genuine menace.
- Torture Always Works: Firmly believed by Tufa and many of the others (specially the torturers themselves), although in the end subverted by the defiance of Fabio and another man.
- Tragic Dropout: Lugo, due to the above-mentioned Shotgun Wedding.
- Tyrant Takes the Helm: Zigzagged, Colonel Scheer doesn't take command away from Von Prum, and Von Prum is ruthless enough himself, but it is Scheer's visit to the village, and beratingly ordering Von Prum to find the wine that make him more tyrannical.
- Unfriendly Fire: Tufa, a former Fascist officer who took a long time to realize it was time to give up the fight, was non-fatally shot in the back by several of his own deserting men at one point.
- Villain Respect: Traub shows some respect for the villagers deception by the end.
- You Monster!: Fabio declares this while being tortured, refusing to give in.
