"The Betrothed is an inextricable thread in the fabric of Italian culture, one of the most influential works in the Italian literary canon, and required reading in Italian schools. Published in 1827 but set two hundred years earlier, it is considered the first iteration of the historical novel; Edgar Allen Poe declared it "a work which promises to be the commencement of a new style in novel-writing" in 1835. But, until now, it has remained relatively...

A family epic spanning four decades of social unrest from the 1960s to the 1990s and incorporating such events in Italy's history as the hippy movement, the flood of Florence, the Red Brigades, Mafia scandals, kidnapping and political assassinations. The film focuses on Italian brothers Nicola and Matteo Carati, whose lives take very different paths, divided by politics but bonded by blood.