Italian POWs and a Texas Church: The Murals of St. Mary's Paperback - 2001

From the publisher

While the tragedy of World War II played itself out in the cities and across the countrysides of Europe, a different drama took place in the Texas Panhandle, where three thousand Italian prisoners of war were interned in a camp at Hereford. In the last year of the war, the prisoners suffered a siege of hunger dictated by government-ordered cutbacks in rations. Only a handful of prisoners found a way to supplement their meager meals. Franco Di Bello, an Italian officer who spoke English, and a small band of fellow artists agreed to decorate St. Mary s Church in the nearby town of Umbarger. There, amid the small farms and the hard-working German immigrants who had settled the area, the Italian POWs painted murals and carved figures reminiscent of the Renaissance. The good people of St. Mary s provided the artistic Italians with a hearty meal each noon feeding their thin bodies with an abundance of home-cooking and nourishing their souls with simple respect and friendship.This compassionate story of courage and kindliness is as enduring as the art work that still graces the walls of a modest Catholic church in a Panhandle town.This new edition of the book formerly titled Interlude in Umbarger has been released to coincide with the presentation of a musical drama, Bellini s War, adapted from the story in these pages, with score by Steven Paxton and words by William Wenthe. [This] story of Italian artists, U.S. prisoners of war, is a reminder that the truths in war lie in the human spirit. It is a must read for all who are on the path to peace. L. T. Matthiesen, Catholic Bishop Emeritus of Amarillo"