Claudio Casadei earns his living by renting umbrellas and sunbeds on the beach at Rimini, Italy's biggest holiday resort. He's called a 'bagnino' and his whole family works with him at beach 72. Claudio has been observing Italians at play for over 30 years. He has strong views on the 'topless' look, is critical of the attitudes to love and sex of young Italians and comments wryly on the 'passeggiata' - the daily parade of the beautiful people along the sands. Claudio loves his job, and his views on Italians provide a special, humorous and at times outrageous insight into the Italian character.

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Dino Labriola runs the small town of Montemilone in the deep south. He was elected the first Communist mayor. Now he faces the problems of a town dying on its feet. There are no jobs, the young emigrate, the old have given up hope and government aid often goes astray. While Dino is determined to fight for his town, his wife Angela sometimes feels that the struggle is not worth it. A massive dam is being built just outside Montemilone. It's a new threat to the town and to Dino's position as mayor.

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Mirella D'Angelo was already one of Italy's top models when at 18 she first went into films. She's been cast as thief, princess, gambler and stripteaser. She's just played a sorceress opposite a former Mr Universe in Hercules. Ten years and ten films later she is still looking for the right part to establish herself as a major actress. To keep acting Mirella has switched to fringe theatre. A week before the opening night she's busy with rehearsals. When she is invited for a new screen test Mirella wonders if she could now be on her way to Hollywood.

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Leonetto Tintori has dedicated 50 years of his life to restoring Italy's early Renaissance masterpieces. Frescoes by Giotto and paintings from the palaces of Florence and Sienna and from small wayside chapels owe their survival to him. He finds it agonising to see a deteriorating painting 'It's like watching a corpse rotting away'. Like a visiting doctor he tends damaged works of art throughout Tuscany. Leonetto is also an artist and sculptor and his favourite model is his wife and companion, Elena. Their relationship is based on humour, warmth and the occasional huge row. Their love of art brought them together and it sustains them now.

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Ferruccio Berolo is a passionate enthusiast. About Venice, where he lives. About Venetian food and wine. And about classical dance, which he once performed and now teaches. This is the most important week of Ferruccio's year. He is frantically preparing the 95 children of his ballet school for their end-of-year show. Tempers fray as rehearsals go wrong. Doting but demanding parents, grandmothers and aunts fill the grand 18th-century theatre, and Ferruccio's future success depends on how they receive the performance. But in spite of the stresses of teaching, Ferruccio is a man who enjoys himself. Choosing seafood at the Rialto, cooking surprising dishes for his friends, or drinking sparkling wine in one of Venice's many bars, Ferruccio is in his element.

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Ciccio Longo is now nearly 80 and has been fishing the Straits of Messina all his life. Here they kill swordfish and tuna with the harpoon. Ciccio's nickname is Piscibonu - the 'good fisherman'. Piscibonu was once champion harpoonist, like his father and grandfather before him, and he is still out fishing most days from dawn until dusk. One day after an exciting chase they land three big tuna fish, the next day nothing. His great love is the sea - 'It's like a woman. I want to embrace it' - but each year he catches fewer fish. The factory ships have begun to destroy Piscibonu's way of life. He accepts it with good humour - perhaps because he knows there is little he can do about it.

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Giovanna Mazzocchi inherited one of Italy's biggest publishing empires seven years ago when she was just 30. Today Editoriale Domus of Milan is flourishing under the direction of its enterprising young boss. Her magazines cover holidays, flying, cars, architecture and design. Giovanna is both a success in business and mother of two small children. Wealth has brought problems for her family. Giovanna's sister was kidnapped and released only after they paid a huge ransom. Now Giovanna carries a gun for her own protection, but refuses to let fear restrict her family life.

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Mauro Fiamenghi inhabits two worlds. From Monday to Friday he's involved in angry meetings at the Alfa Romeo car factory near Milan. He's a quality controller on the production line. Mauro is a Communist and in the thick of his union's fight to resist lay-offs. Feelings run high. There are lightning strikes and demonstrations. He is a moderate, and has been threatened because of his views. Mauro's other world is a two hour train journey away, high up in the Alps. He goes there every weekend to escape with his wife and young children to their mountain home and to tend his vines. But there's always Monday morning....

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Sister Genoveffa Cali has been a nun for 35 years. Her father fought her decision, but she wouldn't be stopped. Becoming a nun was 'like boarding a train to Wonderland'. She has worked with Italian immigrants in Michigan and in a home for the mentally handicapped in Trevi. She acts as a social worker and psychotherapist. And she is now a novice mistress in a small convent outside Spoleto with six young girls in her charge. It's hard for her to be strict. As a novice 'I was always the one to break the rules' she laughs. Sister Genoveffa Cali hasn't always found the life easy. But today she is serene - and as irrepressible as ever. 'My adventure isn't over yet.'

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Natina Manglaviti is 20 and her wedding is just a week away. She lives in a small village high up in the mountains in the southernmost tip of Italy. Her father, Giuseppe, is a peasant farmer cultivating 60 acres. Natina approaches her wedding with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Her fiance is the son of a family friend but, because of local custom, she has never spent a moment alone with him. Natina and her mother pack the trousseau, bottles are filled with home-made wine, 70 loaves are baked for the feast, and Natina has the last fitting of her wedding dress. On the day there's a ten-course lunch for 600 guests. They dance the famous tarantella. Giuseppe is proud to set up his daughter in marriage. 'The greater the head of the family', he says, 'the finer and bigger the wedding feast'.

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