Help or advice from wrongfully detained son abroad

I am a single parent with a child that has been wrongfully detained by his father. I have not married the father. He had asked me when I was pregnant with our son, to stay in Italy with him to have the baby there, as his job was not able to allow him to come see the birth of our son in the US. This was his very first child, and his parents were not able to come down as they were not in the condition of handling long flights.

I than not so enthused agreed to it, I wanted to make them happy, not knowing or expecting what devastation I was to experience later. I stayed in Italy for almost 5 months. I gave birth to my son in November of 2003. I had spent a total of 12 days with my son, untill I was forced to leave without my him. The father had pre- arranged plane tickets for my departure. I did not have any time to register my son as a US citizen, he led me to think everything was okay untill the day he told me I was not leaving with our son. It was like a nightmare! He had taken the phone communication off temporarily, untill I had to leave. I told him I would call the police! I was not consenting to this! I just gave birth to our son, I need to bond with him! He told me sarcastically that "The police will just laugh at you" As I am the father of our son, and they would just tell us to figure it out ourselves, this is the way law is here in Italy. I gasped in terror, because I could not believe it! Just to appease me and in case I may try to contact police later, he told me that he would return with our son in 2 months. As this would give some time to his mother, and this again related to his work. I did not want this! But I had no other choice.
He had made excuse after excuse of bringing our son back, My son is now almost 8 months old. I am seeing a psychologist for depression because of this matter.

I have sought out many directions asked many questions, The Department of Childrens Issues has told me this is not considered a "Child Abduction" as my son was born in Italy. & also the child is just an Italian citizen, and not a dual as I had not registered him. This is considered a "Child Custody Dispute". & I would need to seek a lawyer from Italy to represent my case. The problem with that is, I am not a rich woman, nor can I afford a lawyer especially abroad. I am seeking pro- bono attorneys that are in Italy. & I would indeed like to know if I even stand a chance in this matter. Does anyone know of any Pro Bono lawyers in Italy who deal in International Custody cases? Who hopefully have good reputations. I don't want to go through anymore hell! I need to know how I can go about getting my son back! I desperately need advice and information on my situation. My son will be 1 years old in several months from now, This means once a child is living in a place for 1 year it is considered his habitual residence. This would make my case even more difficult. I am running out of time... Is there anyone out there that can help me???

Matteo's Mom