Fontamara is a village in the Marsica, forgotten by all but God and its inhabitants are called 'cafoni' (boors). Berardo Viola wants to marry Elvira but only after gaining enough money to buy some land and in order to reach his aim he has the idea of going to a great city. When Maria Grazia is raped by the fascists, Berardo and Antonio decide to leave Fontamara and go to Rome. Here they are swindled by a lawyer and afterwards they are invited by an antifascist to a restaurant where they are arrested by the police because of some subversive papers they had.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Michele PlacidoBerardo Viola | Berardo Viola |
 Antonella MurgiaElvira | Elvira |
 Ida Di BenedettoMaria Rosa | Maria Rosa |
 Imma PiroMaria Grazia | Maria Grazia |
| AAntonio OrlandoAntonio | Antonio |
 Deddi SavagnoneNot listed | Not listed |
 Liliana GeraceNot listed | Not listed |
 Marcello MontiNot listed | Not listed |
| DDino SartiNot listed | Not listed |
| CCiccio BusaccaNot listed | Not listed |
 Enzo MonteduroNot listed | Not listed |
| LLino ColettaNot listed | Not listed |
 Franco JavaroneNot listed | Not listed |
 Marina ConfaloneRecchiuta | Recchiuta |
 Armando BandiniNot listed | Not listed |
 Franco FerriNot listed | Not listed |
 Costantino CarrozzaNot listed | Not listed |
| MMarija TocinoskiNot listed | Not listed |
 Nelide GiammarcoNot listed | Not listed |