Eternal

Part 1 begins with epigraphs from Ignazio Silone, about the prerogative to tell one’s narrative, and Percy Bysshe Shelley’s poem “Adonais,” describing Rome.

Elisabetta describes her two friends, Sandro Simone and Marco Terrizzi, as she sits by the riverbank of the Tiber after school. While she reads, Marco, a talented cyclist, asks her to ride with him. She demurs, continuing to read a newspaper while her friend Angela goes with Marco. Left alone with Sandro, Elisabetta discusses the current rise of Fascism, and he kisses her without warning—which she enjoys.

Marco heads home for dinner and eats with his father Beppe and older brothers Aldo and Emedio, a priest. They discuss the Church’s handling of Nazis, and Beppe discusses cycling and professional racing. He criticizes Aldo for his lack of improvement in training for racing before demanding that Marco begin training.

Sandro thinks about the history of the Ghetto in Rome, expressing pride in the Ghetto and his Jewish identity. He and his sister Rosa talk while he works on math. He asks Rosa for advice on women, and she tells him to buy his crush flowers; he instead opts for a book. Sandro confesses that he and Marco both like the same woman—Elisabetta.

Marco and Aldo ride rapidly through Rome, training together. Aldo rides too quickly, and Marco struggles to keep up. Aldo confesses that he’s heading to meet a married woman with whom he’s having an affair. As he discusses love, Marco admits he feels the same for Elisabetta.

Aldo leaves Marco, reaching the Christian catacombs. He leaves his bicycle hidden outside and arrives at a meeting for anti-Fascists.

Elisabetta wakes up to her cat, Rico. She asks her mother Serafina for a bra despite her lean body, as she is teased for not wearing one at school—but her mother refuses. Elisabetta’s father Ludovico, inebriated, sleeps on the couch, and she wakes him with coffee.

Marco, Sandro, and Elisabetta sing Giovinezza, a required song about Fascist youth. Marco changes the lyrics, hoping to make Elisabetta laugh, but she looks at Sandro instead. He thinks about his difficulty reading and writing, which stems from his undiagnosed dyslexia. Professoressa Longhi, their teacher, asks Marco and Sandro to read each other’s essays on Mussolini’s greatness, but Sandro covers for Marco by extemporizing about cycling.

Sandro waits at the dinner table to eat, while his mother Gemma waits for his father Massimo and sister Rosa. Massimo arrives, telling them that he has been made counsel for the Jewish board of the Ghetto. Rosa and her English boyfriend David arrive. David, who’s also Jewish, interrogates Massimo about his support for Mussolini and membership in the Fascist Party.

Elisabetta returns home, getting ready to wait tables at Casa Servano, a small restaurant in Trastevere. She sees her mother and Serafina’s friend Giulia, who congratulates Elisabetta on a story she wrote. Serafina dismisses Elisabetta’s dream to write. Elisabetta arrives at Casa Servano and talks to Paolo, her boss Nonna’s son, about Nonna’s pasta. Nonna tells Elisabetta that Moro Gualeschi will be dining tonight, and Elisabetta should talk to him, because he’s a famous writer. She gives him her recent story, only for her father to arrive and vomit on him.

Marco rides his bicycle through the city and stops to get gelato. He flirts with the clerks while choosing a flavor. Riding to the historical center, he sees the excavations ordered by Mussolini. Climbing into one of the holes to see the ruins, Marco is filled with pride as a descendant of Rome.

At the anti-Fascist meeting in the catacombs, Aldo is told of a plot to bomb the Fascist Party at an upcoming meeting at the retirement of Commendatore Spada. Amidst jeers, Aldo remains skeptical, and leader Uno understands his fear. The group asks Aldo to ride to Orvieto to pick up guns.

Elisabetta walks her father home and finds her mother packing. Serafina refuses to stay, claiming she wasted enough time on Ludovico.

At Beppe’s bar, Bar GiroSport, Massimo and other patrons listen to the radio as the Tour de France ends. While the Italian cyclist loses, they console themselves with the upcoming Giro d’Italia, a race Beppe once placed in. Marco gives an impassioned speech about the glories of Rome, which are more important than a bicycle race. Everyone applauds, but Beppe chides his son for minimizing the Giro d’Italia. Massimo brings Commendatore Buonacorso, who wishes to meet Marco following his speech.

At La Sapienza, a famous university in Rome, Sandro attends a lecture by Professor Levi-Civita, a real-life Jewish mathematician. Sandro was invited to study at La Sapienza because of his performance at his current educational institution, his liceo. After the lecture, he hears someone call Levi-Civita an antisemitic slur. He writes the mathematician a note, expressing his admiration.

Marco goes to Palazzo Braschi, the headquarters of the Fascist Party in Rome, for a job interview. Questioned by Commendatores Buonacorso and Spada, he answers perfectly, even reciting “The Decalogue of the Young Fascists” (62)—a list of 10 rules for the young Fascist. Buonacorso hires him, saying he will work before and after school.

Elisabetta gets ready for school, eyeing the deficiencies of her newly bought bra. At school, she makes plans with Marco and Sandro to meet by the river after school. Sandro brings supplì, fried rice balls. The boys discuss Elisabetta’s reading and say she should write a novel. Marco convinces her to ride on his bicycle, but her eyes remain on Sandro while Marco peddles.

At Termini, the main train station in Rome, Marco waits with Buonacorso and Spada as Mussolini arrives. Having visited Hitler in Germany in the past, Buonacorso discusses the trip and the disdain German people have for them. Marco thinks about Elisabetta, determined to win her over.

In the catacombs, Uno discusses Mussolini’s recent trip to Germany, declaring the anti-Fascists need to wait to pick up their guns. He provides further information on Spada’s retirement party, that no family members will be there. However, Aldo knows Marco will accompany his boss Buonacorso to the party.

Sandro goes to a Fascist rally in Rome, where Mussolini denounces the League of Nations, comparing them to an ancient tribunal in Jerusalem. Separated from his father Massimo, Sandro becomes afraid. At home, Rosa attempts to convince her parents to leave Rome. Massimo defends his decision to stay and argues that Mussolini will protect them. Rosa leaves to go to David’s, and Sandro follows her, seeing a Blackshirt (the paramilitary for the Fascist Party) urinate in a fountain.

Sandro eats at Casa Servano, so he can invite Elisabetta to a lecture at La Sapienza on one of her favorite authors, the real-life Grazia Deledda. Marco enters the restaurant with flowers, serenading her for a date. Nonna talks to Elisabetta about the boys, recognizing Marco and insisting she not date him.

Marco and Aldo leave Casa Servano, teasing each other about their shared love for Elisabetta. They vow to maintain their friendship despite their competition.

Elisabetta joins Marco, and they go to Piazza Navona. He takes her to Palazzo Braschi, and shows her the offices where he works. He climbs out a window onto the balustrade, asking her to join him. Elisabetta does, and they kiss.

At La Sapienza, Sandro and Elisabetta attend the lecture on Cosima, a novel beloved by her. The lecturer offends her, as he amplifies the novel’s depiction of alcoholism—specifically, the father character who struggles with alcoholism. She rushes out of the room, and Sandro follows her. He tells her that he values her interpretation of the book more than the professor’s.

Marco visits Elisabetta’s house, again with flowers. Her father Ludovico answers the door and recognizes him as Beppe’s son. Grabbing and crushing Marco’s flowers, he tells Marco to leave his daughter alone. He then reveals Beppe had an affair with his wife Serafina.