Let's think counterfactual What is counterfactual thinking? It is speculating about the occurrence of an event that never actually happened. For instance: what if Napoleon had died during the Italian Campaign of 1796? And what if Caesar had not been stabbed to death? History would have developed in a different way resulting in an alternative timeline. The event at the origin of this alternative timeline is usually called point of divergence and is also responsible for the so called butterfly effect in history. A small event in a remote corner of the world can have huge consequences elsewhere. Now, we are obviously not talking about the history we were taught in school; this new approach introduces us to a wealth of raw material for novels and fiction in general. Alternate history, allohistory, counterfactual history are all terms indicating, for an author, the exciting chance to explore infinite possible worlds and, for the historian, the stepping stone towards gaining a better understanding of the cause and effect relationship. Until not so long ago, alternate history was almost exclusively a British and American matter. In my country, Italy, the topic was not popular until the 90's although a few writers had begun to wonder about possible alternate timelines and potential points of divergence. A common theme revolved around the survival of the Fascist regime until today. This speculation sparked a debate, and some counterfactual authors were accused of harbouring neofascist sympathies. As a matter of fact, some of them did look up to fascism as if it were a sort of "golden age", but the ideological disputes that periodically stir up the ongoing discussion have prevented Italy from developing a true allohistorical tradition. As far as I am concerned, I have always tried to maintain a neutral position. It was this spirit that made it possible for "Nero Italiano" to see the light.