All good stories start with a journey. Mario Campanale began his in southern Italy just as Europe was recovering from the devastation of the Second World War.

His tale of growing up in the wild and rugged landscape of Puglia, village life, the descriptions of how he and his family kept going by relentless hard work, but with much love and happiness, is both rich and compelling. It is a story of how Mario realised his dream - moving on from fields of figs and almonds - to friendships in the world of music and a new life in London, shared with a beautiful English girl, his wife Barbara.

This account of how Mario's life and how his family in one generation went from being the terroni of the deep Italian south, to achieving high flying jobs in the City of London, education at Oxford and a life in politics, is one of courage, inspiration and hope.

Buy the book 'Ciao Mario! - A Story of Love and Courage' from Amazon by clicking below:

Click here to download the MP3 of Mario's interview on BBC Southern Counties Radio prior to the launch.

Eleanor Bron, Actress

More about Cassano delle Murge and Southern Italy here:

http://puglia.indettaglio.it/eng/comuni/ba/cassanodellemurge/cassanodellemurge.html

http://www.comune.cassano.bari.it

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassano_delle_Murge