Set in the poorer Naples in 1954, Adelina supports her unemployed husband Carmine and child by selling black market cigarettes. When she doesn't pay a fine, her furniture is to be repossessed. However her neighbors assist her by hiding the furniture. A lawyer who lives in the neighborhood advises Carmine that, as the fine and furniture are in Adelina's name, she will be imprisoned. However, Italian law stipulates that women cannot be imprisoned when pregnant or within six months after a pregnancy. As a result, Adelina schemes to stay pregnant continuously. After seven children in eight years, Carmine is seriously exhausted and Adelina must make the choice of being impregnated by their mutual friend Pasquale or be incarcerated. She finally chooses to be incarcerated, and the whole neighborhood gathers money to free her and petition for her pardon, which finally comes and she is reunited with her husband Carmine and their children.
Anna of Milan
Anna, the wife of a mega-rich industrialist, has a lover named Renzo. Whilst driving together in her husband's Rolls-Royce, Anna must determine which is the most important to her happiness – Renzo or the Rolls. Renzo rethinks his infatuation with Anna when she expresses no concern when they nearly run over a child, and end up crashing the Rolls-Royce. She is infuriated by the damage to her Rolls-Royce, and ends up getting another passing driver to take her home, leaving Renzo on the road.
Mara of Rome
Mara works as a prostitute from her apartment, servicing a variety of high class clients including Augusto, the wealthy, powerful and neurotic son of a Bologna industrialist. Mara's elderly neighbor's grandson Umberto is a handsome and callow young man studying for the priesthood but not yetordained. Umberto and Mara talk one night asking each other about their occupations. Embarrassed, Mara tells him she does manicures. Umberto's grandmother sees them talking and, knowing that Mara is a prostitute, interrupts their conversation telling Mara that she'll go to hell. Umberto protests, but Mara defends herself. Umberto falls in love with her. To the shrieking dismay of his grandmother, the young man wishes to leave his vocation to be with Mara, or to join the French Foreign Legion, if Mara rejects him. Mara vows to set the young man on the path of righteousness back to the seminary and vows celibacy for a week, if she succeeds. For this, she enlists the reluctant Augusto. Mara then provides a striptease at the climax of the film.
Cast
Sophia Loren as Adelina Sbaratti / Anna Molteni / Mara
Marcello Mastroianni as Carmine Sbaratti / Renzo / Augusto Rusconi
