1947-1952. The war is over and Italy is devastated, but enthusiasm for the budding democracy is spreading throughout the country. In a climate of cooperation between anti-Fascist powers to reconstruct the nation, thousands of families from the centre-north open up their homes to children coming from the worst hit and inherently poor areas of the south. In no time at all the initiative grows into a national movement, propounding a conception of solidarity and assistance that has its roots in the values of the Resistance. It finds concrete solutions to the most pressing problems, making up for the absence of institutional aid. Women are the undisputed leaders of this enormous organisational machine: despite all kind of problems, the Unione Donne Italiane (Italian Union of Women) and committees set up in each city manage to provide these damaged and malnourished children with a context of dignity and deliverance. The protagonists of this story, by now grandparents, recall this unprecedented experience through their childhood eyes, creating an emotional short-circuit between childhood and old age. Through their stories, rare film footage from the Luce film archive and private photographic archives, Pasta nera portrays one of the best examples of solidarity between the north and south of Italy.