Miracle in Milan 1951

In this whimsical tale of discovery and magic, Totò, found as an infant in a humble cabbage patch, is cradled by the wisdom and compassion of Lolotta, his adoptive mother. As fate would have it, upon her passing, Totò finds himself transplanted to an orphanage, where he nurtures organizational skills that will serve him well in the trials ahead. Upon reaching adulthood, Totò (Francesco Golisano) sets out from the confines of the orphanage and makes his way to a shantytown on the outskirts of Milan, where he settles among the residents of a makeshift squatter colony.

As Totò’s innate kindness and optimism inherited from Lolotta begin to take root, he brings solace and order to the colony’s inhabitants. Despite their precarious circumstances, he fosters an atmosphere of joy and belonging among the residents. Meanwhile, two businessmen, including the cunning Mobbi, acquire the land, allowing the squatters to remain on the premises.

During a vibrant festival, as the squatters dig a hole for a maypole, a surprising discovery is made - oil gushes forth from beneath the colony. Unaware of its true nature, the squatters mistake it for water, only to be blindsided when Mobbi, informed by the scheming Rappi, attempts to forcibly evict them with the aid of the police.

In this moment of crisis, Totò receives a mystical dove from the ghostly Lolotta, imbued with the power to grant wishes. As the colony undergoes a surreal transformation, secret desires are fulfilled in ways both wondrous and unexpected. However, when two angelic figures reclaim the dove, protesting its use by a mortal, the camp’s magical protection is revoked.

As the police descend upon the camp, Totò’s friends are arrested and carted away in police wagons. In response to his sweetheart Edvige’s substitution of an ordinary dove for the magical one, Totò uses his genuine faith to wish for his friends’ freedom. In a remarkable turn of events, the police wagons disintegrate, and the squatters soar into the air on broomsticks pilfered from Milan’s central square.

As they circle the city’s iconic cathedral, the squatters eventually take flight “towards a land where ‘good morning really means good morning’”.