17-year-old Elia is spending the summer harvesting grapes on his parent's farm. Bored and a little lonely, his life is thrown into turmoil when the beautiful and experienced Emilia comes to help with the harvest. His father, Claudio is a staunch Communist and his life too is turned upside down when the popular party leader dies. Maddalena, the mother, continues stoically through it all, secure in her Catholic faith and the prayer meetings she runs. As Emilia becomes more involved in Elia's life he opens up to her about the frustrations and joys of rural teenage life.

Year 1100. Italy.The Northern lands are ruled by a German emperor: Fredrick aka "Barbarossa. His dream is to conquer also the lands in the Center and in the South so as to revive the Empire that was once of the one Charles Magno.But in the North a young man from Milan has formed an army of 900 young men coming from different cities: the "company of death". This young man's name is Alberto Da Giussano. His dream is to defeat the Emperor and to give back freedom to the Northern lands.

A train travels across Italy toward Rome. On board is a professor who daydreams a conversation with a love that never was, a family of Albanian refugees who switch trains and steal a ticket, three brash Scottish soccer fans en route to a match, and a complaining widow traveling to a memorial service for her late husband who's accompanied by a community-service volunteer who's assisting her. Interactions among these Europeans turn on class and nationalism, courtesy and rudeness, and opportunities for kindness.

The ape-man, found somewhere in the jungles of Congo, transferred to Milan and named Bingo Bongo. The only one who believes in the human qualities of him is Laura, a woman anthropologist , so their affection for each other even grows to love.

On December 12, 1969, a bomb kills 17 people at the Piazza Fontana national bank in Milan, Italy, marking the beginning of the Years of Lead. Local anarchists are scapegoated for the massacre by police and the media, but a lone prosecutor uncovers a conspiracy of far-right groups, corrupt secret services, and other interests that seek to undermine democracy.

A wealthy community in north-east Italy deals with its immigration fears.

Marco Baldini is a young man determined to become the voice of a major radio; he alternates between his job at Radio Deejay and his gambling addiction, that slowly consumes his life, his relationship with his girlfriend and his work skills.

Father Arturo is a suburban parish priest, full of goodwill despite the absenteeism of his parishioners and the "harassment" from his bishop. One day, Francesco, the son he secretly had twenty years earlier, shows up at the church. His girlfriend, Matilda, is pregnant—Father Arturo is about to become a grandfather! The next day, Francesco disappears, and the priest and the girl set out to find him.