Originally developed as a miniseries for television. It was then released in cinemas in June 2003 as two three-hour films after the uncut six-hour version had been screened to great acclaim at the Cannes Film Festival. It was eventually aired on Italian TV as originally intended, in 4 parts, in November 2003.
Actors Fabrizio Gifuni and Sonia Bergamasco are married in real life.
The flood that makes Giulia and Nicola go to Florence as helpers (where they get to meet for the first time) is a real catastrophe that struck the city on November 4, 1966. The many young people who went to work there as volunteers were called the "mud angels".
At a certain point, Nicola shows a book from the psychiatrist he takes as his model: the man is Franco Basaglia, who inspired the Italian Mental Health Act of 1978 which led to a large reform of the Italian psychiatric system. The law was named after Basaglia.