Titta Di Girolamo é um homem introvertido que vive num Hotel na Suíça há quase 10 anos, com uma rotina rígida, ignorando os que estão à sua volta. Até que um dia decide quebrar uma das suas regras e troca algumas palavras com Sofia, a atraente barmaid do hotel. A partir desse momento o terrível passado de Titta começa a revelar-se.
In 18th-century Sicily, deaf-mute highborn Marianna Ucrìa is forced to marry his uncle Pietro, a disgusting old man, at age 13. She bears three children before even turning 16, when she finally gives birth to a boy. Despite everything, she'll find a way to emancipate herself from the oppressive social conventions of the time.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a junior resident takes an interest in a newly-arrived patient, a young Italian woman who has mysteriously developed schizophrenia. To identify the causes of her condition, he employs psychoanalytic methods to dig into her sexual past, despite objections by the old-fashioned chief physician.
Four lighthearted stories set in the idyllic Italian countryside: an old grouch finds himself followed by a stray dog; a lonely widow spies on her newly-wed son and daughter-in-law; a German tourist tries to seduce a younger nurse; a man wanders in the summer. The fourth segment was cut by Miramax for the US distribution.
