A number of different segments taken from 19th century Italian stories.

In the first Italian film to be shot in color, Totò portrays a musician named Antonio Scannagatti who strongly hopes to sell his composition, "Epopea italiana", to Tiscordi, who is one of the most important Italian impresarios.

A ruthless businessman wants to bring a penniless nobleman financially on his knees because he wants to marry the man's daughter. It is the family chauffeur who puts things right.

When a ship carrying the daughter of Rhodes' governor and secret documents is captured by Mediterranean pirate Dragut, the governor tasks captain Diego with their recovery before they can be sold to Sultan Selim.

Cesare Mancini is a tram driver who lives in Bologna. One day he accidentally hits a woman on a bicycle, the accident costs Cesare the relegation to a ticket seller.

A landowner pretends he's in love with a provocative bar owner to make his fianceè jealous. She has fallen for a marshal.

Fernando, owner of a large chain store, suffers from worrying dreams: he seems to successfully court saucy women, but just as he is about to win them over, a youngster comes on the scene and steals them from under his nose.

A young dare-devil goes to Rome in search of fortune, with the blessings and money of his loving aunts. While in the city, he is a victim of a series of mishaps. His aunts hear about a man of the same name who is a candidate for Parliament; they think that he is their nephew and organize a series of celebrations. So, the youngster gets the idea of trying to replace the real candidate, but gets found out. The aunts forgive him.

Tonino, a young, shy salesman, engaged to his neighbor Pallina, is a cinema enthusiast. He has written a film script and dreams of seeing it made on the big screen.

Tino Scotti plays a man who is tricked into trying to kill himself. When all his attempts fail, he is believed to be immortal.