With the help of my ever-lovin' spouse, I've put together a Guareschi desktop environment for Windows. I have been using this theme myself for more than 4 years and have not tired of it yet.

The link to the zipped "Don Camillo" theme for you to download is found at the bottom of this page; between here and there is a preview of what the theme includes, for those who prefer to see what they're getting before they download it.

A.  Wallpaper/Screen backgrounds: Here are some options for your basic Windows screen background. I've included a couple of different designs, each in both 800x600 and 1024x888 bitmaps. I set one of them as the default (installs automatically when you install the theme), but if you want to switch to the other one, just consult the theme's "Readme".

1. The background set as the default upon installation is Guareschi's "Procession" cartoon, superimposed on the wallpaper I use at this website. It has plenty of room around the outside for all your desktop icons.

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2. And my other background sports, on a black field, eight of Guareschi's nice color illustrations for the European editions of the first Don Camillo book. The black strip down the left side of the image will accommodate two columns of icons; after that, the icons will encroach on the pictures. [This is the one I use at home; it looks great in 1024x888.]

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3. And, for those who want it real simple, I've also thrown in a little bitmap of the pattern for this website's wallpaper. For a very basic screen background, just tile it.

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B. Cursors: There are only three of them (all 16-color), with the following default assignments (note: these preview ones are just plain gifs, not actual cursors).

•      This one, adapted from one of GG's sketches of himself, is the default "Arrow" cursor (the one that appears all the time). The tip of the flag corresponds to the tip of the "arrow"

•      This is the "Application Starting" cursor. The flag is animated, and "waves" while you wait (and top left corner of flag is the "hot spot").

•      This one's the "Wait" cursor. The animated angel starts out white and "fills up" with blue color, from toe to head, while you wait (tip of wing is "hot spot").

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C. Icons: There are seven of them, with the following assignments. The first five are 256-color icons; if your system converts them to 16-color ones, those little faces will turn an unappealing gray, rather than all peachy as they appear below. (note: as above, these preview pics are just plain gifs, not actual icons).

•   assigned to "My Computer" in the theme

•   assigned to "Network Neighborhood"

•   assigned to "Recycle Bin (Full)"

•   assigned to "Recycle Bin (Empty)"

•   not assigned to anything, but included in case you want to use it. It's a "mirror image" (but in 256 colors) of the GG cursor above.

•   not assigned to anything, but included in case you want to use it. It's the "un-filled-in" version of the angel cursor above.

•   not assigned to anything, but included in case you want to use it. It's an unanimated version of the flag cursor above.

Exact filenames are given in the theme's "Readme" file, in case you want to locate and make use of the three unassigned icons above.

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D. Sound Files: To go along with the functions indicated below, I use nine little clips from the English-dubbed version of the first "Don Camillo" movie (1953). One of the voices you'll here is that of Orson Welles, who was the voice of the narrator (and, as such, the voice of Christ). I like them a lot, but you'll have to try them to decide whether you find them too loud and long for your tastes (as my husband does). Click on these links to preview the sounds I've assigned to each function (they're all in the Zip file, too).

• sign-on (the voice of narrator Orson Welles introduces the film)
• basic "beep" (the film's Peppone identifies his nemesis to a visiting Communist)
• exclamation beep (Peppone warns Don Camillo away from a fire burning near a "secret" Party ammunition dump)
• empty recycle bin (the narrator, as the voice of Christ, tells Don Camillo to get rid of a weapon he's hiding)
• minimize (voice of Don Camillo asks permission of Christ to hit Peppone with a candle)
• restore up (the narrator, as the voice of Christ, tells Don Camillo why not to hit Peppone)
• maximize (after their "conference," Peppone gives Don Camillo the name with which to baptize his son)
• restore down (Peppone's wife tells Don Camillo the original choice of name)
• sign-off (as train whistle blows and Don Camillo is carried off to one of his temporary exiles, the narrator bids farewell)

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Okay, here's the theme. Everything's in this single zipped file; just right-click on the link to download: DonCamillo.ZIP. After you download and unzip it, consult the "Readme" file for further instructions. Much of the above info. is re-summarized there. Enjoy! And please email me with any suggestions for improving / updating the theme.