The story "Salvatore" takes place on the Italian island of Capri nestled in the Gulf of Naples. An idyllic, remote island full of vineyards and surrounded by rocky cliffs, beaches, and blue sea, Capri boasts fishing as its biggest industry. The island's rustic charm also attracts tourists from all over the world. Aside from its natural beauty, Italy's association with Christianity furthers the motif of religion that runs through the story. The island serves as a Garden of Eden for Salvatore, as he does not realize the paradise-like beauty of his childhood home until he's forced to leave for military service. In fact, he compares being away from home to losing an appendage. While on military service, Salvatore comments that the sites he visits pale in comparison to Capri. He juxtaposes the industrial, impersonal nature of the "crowded" but "friendless" city streets to the natural features of his homeland, suggesting that his goodness is more at home in primitive natural settings than urban ones. Unlike the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden, Salvatore is allowed to return to his utopian childhood home in this short story.