The miracles of Santo Fico - D. L. Smith

Santo Fico is an isolated Tuscan village set next to the sea and high on the mountain cliffs. Reachable only by a winding, dangerous road, it is a village few people visit and many want to leave. One day a British tourist bus, lost and out of petrol, turns up - and Santo Fico is never the same again...Father Elio feels the drought, the lack of money and tourists, the theft of the church's great treasure - a magnificent stone fresco - and the villagers' apathy, are his fault. He loses all hope and thinks his only chance to bring back good fortune is to fast. Leo is probably the only person who can save his life - when the lost bus arrived, he saw his chance to make himself some money, resurrected an old legend about the 'miracle' of Santo Fico (St Francis and the fig tree) and makes 200,000 lira. He, and his friends Topo and Marta (owner of the inn and mother of beautiful 9-year-old blind Nina), try various 'miracles' to ensure that Father Elio regains his spirit and leads the village into the future....