On a sunny summer day back in 1936. handsome Francesco Ghizzoni stood placidly waiting for customers behind his refreshment stand near the shores of the Po River. Suddenly, as a curvy blonde entered the water for a dip, Francesco, 25, was swept away by love. Her name was Angela Mondini; she was only 16, and, like Francesco, she came from Cremona. Almost immediately, Francesco proposed marriage. Coldly, Angela refused. "He's not my type.'' she told friends. "She's playing hard to get," Francesco replied.
Day and night, year after year, he pursued his inamorata on the street, into movie theaters, beneath...