Numerous pages have been written about the migrations of Sicilians to other countries in search of a better future, among which we remember Heart in the Abyss (published by Gastaldi in 1949) by Nino Di Maria, a native of Sommatino in the province of Caltanissetta. This book inspired Pietro Germi’s 1950 film Il cammino della Speranza (The Path of Hope).

The film, whose screenplay was co-written with Federico Fellini, won the Silver Bear in Berlin in 1951. When the director came to Sicily to shoot scenes in Favara, Agrigento province, he was approached by Giuseppe Cibardo Bisaccia, a former miner, who recited a mournful poem to him.