There are many things that the small western European nation of Italy is known for, great food, great wine, tourism and football. All of those things are things that help Italy stand out as a country, but the last two are probably the most important. Every year, many people have the opportunity to go to some of the most famous destinations in Italy, such as Milan, Naples or Rome. Mention the Abruzzo region, however, and tourists are likely to look back with curiosity. The region is rarely appreciated by either native Italians or vacationing foreigners, yet it is exactly where author Joe McGinniss traveled to for his novel “The Miracle of Castel di Sangro.” Castel di Sangro is a small town within the Abruzzo region, and the reason McGinniss was there was for soccer. The famous American writer had visited the small town to see a sporting miracle performed within the town, writing in his little leather journals details about his visit and frequenting the local market, filled with everything from fruit to handmade bags, to have an actual idea. for the people

The sports miracle that happened in the village was performed by the local football team. In Italy, soccer leagues are organized in a hierarchy of teams, with Serie A being the best with the biggest and richest teams and foreign players, and Serie C2 being essentially the lowest a team can go to and even generously considered professional. Based on their performance each season, teams are either sent to the lower league or promoted to the higher league. Being from such a small and largely decrepit town, Castel di Sangro had started at something even lower than C2 and no one expected them to do any good. But, the team slowly rises through the ranks and finally gets to play in Serie B, the second highest league in the country and was now playing with the big boys. For an American, this would be the equivalent of a minor league baseball team winning multiple championships in a row and suddenly having to face teams like the Red Sox and Phillies.

During his visit to this seemingly magical town, McGinniss meets an incredible array of characters, including the team’s coach who only knows a few words of English and uses his little knowledge of the language to describe himself as a bulldozer. Also in the flamboyant cast is team president Gabrielle Gravina, who only works for the soccer team in an attempt to land a government job, dreaming of working with Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Finally, perhaps the most interesting person of all is the reclusive elderly owner of the team, Signor Rezza, who has made his fortune from it in the infamous “construction business” in Napoli, located in the southern part of Italy. Throughout the season, McGinniss forms bonds and goes through his fair share of tragedies with the team as he struggles to simply stay alive in Serie B and not be sent back to a lower league, and in the process really discovers what Italy is all about as a country.