"THE PATH OF SPIDER'S NESTS" published in 1947 by Einaudi editor, it is set in Liguria at the time of the Second World War and the Partisan Resistance.
The story is told through the eyes of Pin, a child who works as an apprentice for a cobbler, knows all the facts of his country, who likes to joke and mock his fellow villagers, and pretends to be a man, as often happens to orphaned children (his mother is dead and the father lives far away). Pin at one point steals the gun of a German soldier, a client of his sister, and hides it in the countryside in a path made of holes, as spiders make their nests in this way, hence the title. Following this fact he is arrested, but then manages to escape from prison thanks to a partisan named Lupo Rosso, a partisan named Cugino leads him to a mountain cottage where he comes into contact with other partisans. The character of Lupo Rosso is inspired by the partisan Sergio Grignolio (nom de guerre Ghepeù), known by Calvino during his commitment in the Resistance.