There are many relics and symbols of the Guareschi saga of which stories and anecdotes can be told but Peppone's Sputnik is certainly the one with the longest and most incredible history.
Let's start from the beginning.
The film “Don Camillo monsignore ma non tanto” narrates the events of the “civil” funeral wanted by Peppone for one of the “Martyrs of July 7th”.
A mix between reality and fiction.
The Reggio Emilia massacre is a bloody event that occurred on 7 July 1960 during a trade union demonstration during which five workers from Reggio Emilia, the so-called dead of Reggio Emilia, Lauro Farioli, Ovidio Franchi, Emilio Reverberi, Marino Serri and Afro Tondelli, all members of the PCI, they were killed by the police.
The screenwriters of the fourth film, as a tribute to the fallen, invented the fact that one of the workers was originally from Brescello.
From there, Mayor Peppone wanted to commemorate him but, as he was a communist, the funeral had to be civil and without the ringing of church bells.
He therefore decided to bring a "pagan" bell to the square to still be able to ring the bells for his fallen comrade.
Sputnik indeed.
In this special we want to focus on the history that, from then on, characterized the famous bell.
Built in papier-mâché for stage needs by a craftsman from Cinecittà, it was taken to Brescello for the filming of the film.
There are those who even say that there were 3 identical bells brought to Brescello, given that the scene of the fall could have ruined the first one and therefore stopped filming.
It was 1960.
The production left many props in Brescello after filming the 5 films.
From there the bell remained abandoned in a municipal warehouse until 1986, when some volunteers from Brescelli took care of it and restored it.
After the restoration it was hung under the porticoes of Via Giglioli in Brescello, not far from Piazza Matteotti, where it can still be admired today.
Is it over here?
No.
The history of Sputnik continues in the following years, and up to the present day, because it was defaced several times as a sign of protest and restored several times, creating a sensation in the newspapers and bringing Brescello and "his" bell back into the limelight.
The latest ugliness dates back to January 2020.
In May 2018 the bell returned with all its splendor to its original position, in front of the Municipality of Brescello, for the event "The Return of Sputnik" where some actors recreated the famous scene of the fall without the clapper.
Today you can still see it in Via Giglioli, but we imagine it will still be talked about!
A special page on the website of the publisher, known primarily for its travel guides, explains: "The strikingly inconspicuous agricultural village of Brescello lies directly on the Po River. (...) and thus predestined for the legendary film adaptation of the endearing stories of "Don Camillo and Peppone" with Fernandel and Gino Cervi. (...) In an archway on Via Giglioli hangs the papier-mâché bell that was supposed to end the church's "bell monopoly."