Marcello Rubini, a frustrated 'serious' writer, does tabloid journalism to make ends meet. He spends every evening in Via Veneto awaiting the next scandal, party invitation, or sexual proposition. From an enigmatic woman named Maddalena, to wealthy intellectual Steiner's penthouse, to a famous actress named Sylvia, Marcello finds himself caught up in the carnival spectacle of nightlife and its fleeting happiness. The empty evenings seem to weave together,...

In Venice, during the spring of 1866, it is the last month of the Austrian occupation of the Veneto. The Italian government has forged a pact with Prussia, and another war of liberation in the ongoing Risorgimento is imminent. Countess Livia Serpieri, unloved by her collaborator-husband but sympathetic to the cause of freedom espoused by her patriotic cousin Roberto, meets Austrian officer Franz Mahler as she begs him to call off a duel with Roberto....

"La giornata è quasi finita. È l'ora della nanna ma, prima, Mattia e il suo papà si divertono un po'. Come? Giocando con il buio! Prima spengono la luce, poi accendono la torcia e... Una storia per la sera in cui Mattia si sente a suo agio anche al buio." -- "The day is almost over. It's time for sleep but, first, Mattia and his dad are having a little fun. As? Playing with the dark! First turn off the light, then turn on the flashlight and ......