In the midst of the Mussolini dictatorship and the outbreak of World War II, Soldati, Mario Bonfantini, and Alberto Lattuada wrote the script while staying in a villa on Lake Como.

The cast and crew were watched by police while filming on site at Lake Lugano, for fear they would attempt to escape to Switzerland.

Some actors in the film speak in a Lombardi accent, a potentially subversive inclusion given the cultural repressions of the fascist Italian state.

The old lady makes the life of the newly married couple miserable (she destroys the will which would grant Franco his wealth, and causes Luisa's uncle to lose his job, as he was helping them).

During the Second Italian War of Independence Franco becomes a volunteer soldier in the fight against Austrian and again meets his wife by Lake Maggiore.