Benito Mussolini, whose dream of an Italian empire included Greece, was no longer Il Duce, “the leader” of his country. An Armistice between Italy and the Allies had ended the Rome-Berlin Pact, signed by Hitler and Mussolini before the start of World War II.

The Fuhrer, in an effort to keep Greece under his control, sent German soldiers to Cephalonia. Before the Armistice, they would have fought with the Italians. Now, about 11,500 Italian soldiers were in a quandary. Should they surrender? Oppose the Germans? Join forces with Greek resistance fighters? Without orders, the men decided for themselves. They would fight against the Germans.

Most of the Italians were gunned down in a massacre, according to recently published diaries of German soldiers who were there. The facts were not made public for more than fifty years.

In this story behind the film, meet Benito Mussolini. Learn about his rise to power, his friendship with Adolf Hitler and his demise, at the hands of Italian partisans, in April of 1945. Uncover how his execution motivated Hitler to take his own life and that of his wife, Eva Braun.

Virtually visit Cephalonia to see the island’s beauty and the scene of the massacre. Read excerpts from the diary of Corporal Richter which describe two hours of constant machine-gun firing against the Italian soldiers. Meet Amos Pampaloni, the real Captain Corelli, and learn how he faked death in order to survive the massacre.

Discover the history of the mandolin and hear it played. And ... Meet Arcangelo Corelli, the 17th-century Italian composer, whose modern nickname - “New Orpheus of Our Times” - helps us to understand the end of the novel on which the film is based.