Amor in montagna

In the Catskill mountains, Selvaggia must fight to see her sweetheart Piero, a dreamy young man of whom her father does not approve. Indeed, Piero loves singing in the fields but finds all forms of labor odious. One day, as Piero sings a song about the beauty of the natural world, he is overheard and praised by a young girl, Eola. Later on, Tonio, a sheepherder, Selvaggia, and a young woman named Gina sing together as they stroll home from work. When the others leave, Piero catches up with Selvaggia, kisses her, and tells her that he loves her. Soon after, Piero sees Eola again and confesses to her his sadness, that his father wants him to work as a farmer, but he only loves the earth in the springtime. Eola invites Piero to the home of her mother, the Countess Giraldi, where a birthday party will take place. The next time that Selvaggia sees Piero, she notices that he seems distracted, and she decides that he may be fickle. Later, Selvaggia and Tonio see Piero and Eola talking intimately in the fields. Selvaggia is upset, but, later, Tonio plays his violin for her, and she thanks him with a kiss. Tonio visits Selvaggia's house and brings her flowers, then tells her that she is as fascinating as a melody by Schubert. A group of peasants serenade Selvaggia and Tonio with a song, and then invite them to the countess's party. Selvaggia is worried about the state of her dress, torn while she was climbing, but Tonio surprises her with a new one. At the party, Eola introduces Piero, who begins to sing for the countess when his father, Nardo, suddenly enters in a fury, angry that his son is busy enjoying himself instead of working, and hits him. The countess chides Nardo for his ill treatment of his son, and the old man confesses that Piero is not in fact his offspring. Twenty-two years earlier, when the house by the church caught fire, Nardo and some other men rushed in and managed to save a baby boy. Because the parents had perished in the flames, Nardo decided to raise Piero as his own. Nardo then remembers that the woman who died was only caring for this child and that the baby was in fact the son of an aristocrat. Hearing the surrogate mother's name, Lucia Castiglia, the countess is shocked to realize that she has been reunited with the son that she thought had died years earlier. The countess tells the story of her illegitimate union with a poor but respectable man, and of the baby she was forced to give up. The reunited mother and son decide to forget the past, and Eola is a little perplexed to find that Piero is now her brother. Selvaggia returns home and tells all to her father. Tonio shows up and proposes to the girl, and she admits to having once loved Piero. Tonio assures the contrite Selvaggia that she is not sullied in his eyes, and the girl's father happily consents to their marriage.