Fontamara [fontaˈmaːra] is a 1933 novel by the Italian author Ignazio Silone, written when he was a refugee from the Fascist Police in Davos, Switzerland. It is Silone's first novel and is regarded as his most famous work. It received worldwide acclaim and sold more than a million and a half copies in twenty-seven languages. It was first published as a German translation in Zurich, Switzerland in 1933 and was published in English by Penguin Books in September 1934. Fontamara is derived from the Italian 'Fonte Amara' (Bitter Stream), which Victor Wolfson used as the title for his 1936 stage adaptation of the book, presented in New York at the Civic Repertory Theatre. The novel was also adapted for cinema by director Carlo Lizzani and the film Fontamara was released in 1977. Appearing on the