While on vacation in Rome, married American Mary Forbes becomes entangled in an affair with an Italian man, Giovanni Doria. As she prepares to leave Italy, Giovanni confesses his love for her; he doesn't want her to go. Together they wander the railroad station where Mary is to take the train to Paris, then ultimately reunite with her husband and daughter in Philadelphia. Will she throw away her old life for this passionate new romance?

Two petty thieves, Ciro and Geppa, plan a much bigger scam than they usually practice, but complications ensue.

"Antonio" leaves his family to live a prosperous life with Cristina. Her family live in a slum where their lives are complicated by young love and jealousy. A letter from a local priest that implicates "Antonio" in the murder of an English nobleman comes to light and soon they are all before the King.

This is the (funny) story of four agents of Roma traffic police in the '50s. Their life are crossed in affairs that often retire from mere job relationships. 'Guardia scelta' (special agent) Giuseppe tries to be a composer, he wants to write the anthem for the roman traffic police. 'Guardia'(agent) Alberto Randolfi has a too strong inclination to fine everyone and is dreaming about learning French. 'Brigadiere' (sergeant) Pietro Spaziali is busy looking at his little son Tonino and daughter Maria who is going to marry a boxer. The 'Maresciallo' (Marshal) tries to manage and solve all the troubles they often do.

The film tells the love stories of several young people: Nando, owner of a mechanical shop, supplements his income by posing for photo novels, sparking jealousy in his girlfriend Marisa. Otello, who works as a barber, sincerely loves Adriana, Nando's sister, who has been promised to Franco, who is tempted by the charms of Ines, owner of the neighbourhood trattoria.

A lovely, incisive portrait of adolescents in the crowded San Giovanni quarter of Rome during the last years of WWII.