Andrea Porporati
Northern Italy, 1327. The Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young apprentice Adso of Melk reach an isolated Benedictine abbey on the Alps to aid in a dispute between the Franciscan Order and the Avignon papacy. Upon arrival at the abbey, the two find themselves involved in a chain of mysterious deaths.
Elena, a Sicilian mother of three, is murdered by her husband. Her cousin, Roberto decides to take the three orphans into custody. Together with his wife, Anna, he takes charge of the maintenance of the three nephews, who join the other two children of the couple. The adaptation of the three children to the new reality is complex and conflicting. The backlash on the family budget is heavy. Roberto and his wife make do to ensure that the children are supported, trying not to let them know how their mother died.
Saro, a young Sicilian thug, that from jobs assigned by his godfather, won the favor of leaders of Cosa Nostra, becoming a "man of honor".
It is the year 33 of the Vulgar Era. The Emperor Tiberius is troubled by strange phenomena, an earthquake and the sky turning black as an eclipse. His astrologers give him fair warning: their omens indicate that the world is in the throes of a great upheaval and that old gods have been annihilated. A new kingdom is about to rise in the East. The Emperor calls Tito Valerio Tauro, the most prominent
Towards the end of the eleventh century, Pope Urban II announces a crusade against the Saracens, who have occupied the holy city of Jerusalem. Three young friends Richard, Peter and Andrew set off to join the crusading army.
Fiore, an Italian conman, arrives in post Communist Albania with Gino, his young apprentice, to set up a shoe factory that will never open. The con requires a native Albanian, so they designate Spiro, an impoverished and confused former political prisoner as chairman of the board. When Fiore returns to Italy to get government funds for the project, Spiro unexpectedly disappears and Gino sets out on a journey to find him. The search leads him to discover Spiro's tragic personal history and witness Albanian poverty firsthand.
