Fabrizio, the youngest son of the Marquis of Valserra del Dongo, spends his childhood in the family castle of Griant, built in the 15th century over the beautiful Lake Como. He has two sisters and an older brother, in everything surprisingly similar to his father. The Marquis is rich, but stingy, his wife and daughters live almost in poverty. Contrary to the Marquis’s will, his sister Gina, one of Italy’s most beautiful women, marries the impoverished nobleman Count Pietraner, a participant in Napoleonic campaigns. After the death of the count in a duel, the countess arrives in Griant. Fabrizio grew before her eyes. A seventeen-year-old boy is very handsome - a tall man, a slender camp and a cheerful smile make him irresistible. From childhood he was fascinated by Napoleon and, learning about the landing of the emperor in the bay of Juan, secretly, under a false name, goes to France to fight in the Napoleonic army.
In the very first French town, Fabrizio's appearance and accent seem suspicious and are arrested. On the eve of the Battle of Waterloo, the jailer’s wife helps him escape. He falls on the battlefield, but in the confusion of the battle he does not recognize either Marshal Ney or the emperor himself. The market maker explains to him that the battle is lost and advises him to return home. He follows her advice. In Geneva, he is waiting for a servant Gina. He reports that his older brother reported to Fabrizio and now the police are looking for him as a conspirator.
Mother and Countess Pietraner take Fabrizio to Milan. There they hope to find high patrons for him. But the case was given a move, the denunciation was sent to Vienna, and Fabrizio faces imprisonment in the castle Spilberg - the worst prison in Europe. He is forced to go into voluntary exile.
Gina stays in Milan. Once at the Opera she is introduced to Count Mosca della Rovere Sorezzana - Minister of War, Minister of Police and Finance of the famous Prince of Parma, Ranuncia Ernest IV. The Count, although not young, is notorious by himself, smart, witty and not swaggering. He arouses keen interest in Gina, and he falls in love with her without memory. Unfortunately, he is not divorced from his wife, but for the sake of Gina, he is ready to resign and live wherever she wishes. However, there is another plan: the old Duke of Sanseverin dreams of an order ribbon, a fictitious marriage with the Duke, whom Mosca promises the order, will allow Gina to live in Parma and be presented to the court.
Soon, the Duchess of Sanseverina amazes the Parma court with beauty, affability and clarity of mind. Her house is the most pleasant in the city.
At the Parma court, there are two constantly warring parties, the party of extreme royalists in power is led by Count Mosca, and the opposition party of liberals is the rich and intriguing Marquis of Raversi. The prince himself, since he became an unlimited monarch, is in constant fear. And having executed two liberals at the instigation of the chief fiscal of Rassi, he was simply insane. The enormous influence of Count Mosc is due to the fact that thanks to his diplomatic dexterity, the prince does not have to blush for his cowardice, unworthy of a man, fiscal Rassi is in favorites only because, "protecting the prince", he constantly searches for and finds conspirators. As soon as he notices that the prince’s fears are waning, he hastily reveals some new chimerical conspiracy, the participants of which are waiting for the Parma fortress known throughout Italy. A huge fortress tower one hundred and eighty feet high is visible from afar.
The Duchess likes her new life, she feels tender affection for the Count, the court world amuses her. But the fate of Fabrizio does not give her rest. The count believes that the military career that Fabrizio is striving for is impossible for a young man who fought in Napoleon’s troops. But he promises to make him Archbishop of Parma over time, if he wishes to become a prelate.
The duchess, with the consent of Fabrizio, sends him to study theology at the Neapolitan Theological Academy.
In Naples, Fabrizio, who does not lead the seminar’s lean life at all, gains the reputation of a diligent, but somewhat windy young man. He is very beautiful, in his appearance appeared some special charm. Of course, he is popular among women, but not one of his mistresses plays any role in his life.
Three years later, Fabrizio passes the exams, gets the right to be called "Monsignor" and, finally, goes to Parma.
The Duchess is happy, Fabrizio lives in the palace of Sanseverin and they both rejoice as children. But gradually anxiety seizes Fabrice's soul. He guesses the tendency that the Duchess has for him. But he is sure that he is not capable of serious love, he never had a woman in his life, a date with whom would be more pleasant than a walk on a thoroughbred horse. Fabrizio realizes that, having allowed himself intimacy with the duchess, he will surely lose his only friend. Having told her “I love you,” he will lie, because he does not know what love is.
Once, walking around the city and absorbed in these thoughts, Fabrizio enters the theater and sees a charming actress there, who also bears his last name. Her name is Marietta Walserra. The girl falls in love with Fabrizio, but in the theater she has a patron, actor Gilletti. Once he was a Napoleonic soldier, he is brave, strong and threatens to kill a monsignor. Having accidentally met Fabrizio outside the city, Gilletti attacks him and inflicts several sword blows on him. Defending himself, Fabrizio kills a villain. Now he cannot return to Parma. He is lucky, he meets Lodoviko, the former coachman of the Duchess, who helps him hide. Fabrizio moves from city to city and finally stops in Bologna. Here he meets Marietta and instantly forgets all his sorrows. He does not even suspect what is happening in Parma.
And in Parma, the question is seriously discussed: will the death of comedian Gilletti entail the fall of the right ministry and its head Count Mosca.
The prince, wanting to humiliate the duchess, who is too independent, orders Rassi to start a lawsuit against Fabrizio Valserra del Dongo. If Fabrizio is convicted, he will face execution or hard labor.
Upon learning of the impending sentence in absentia, the Duchess decides to take the last step. She puts on a traveling suit and goes to the palace. The prince has no doubt that she will come. He expects this proud beauty in tears to beg him for leniency. But the prince is wrong. He had never seen a duchess so light, gracious, lively. She came to say goodbye and thank for the favor that the prince had shown her for five years. The prince is amazed and humiliated. He is afraid that, having left Parma, this witty woman will everywhere talk about the dishonest judges and nightly fears of her ruler. He must stop the duchess. And he agrees to sign the document dictated by her, in which he promises not to approve the sentence pronounced by Fabrizio. But the prince feels deeply offended and the next morning orders to send out an order to arrest the nobleman del Dongo as soon as he appears in his possessions.
Marquise Raversi sets up a trap for Fabrizio, appointing him a date on behalf of the Duchess in a place near Parma. Fabrizio does not have time to enter the borders of the Kingdom of Parma, when he is seized and sent to the Parma fortress in shackles.
The commandant of the fortress, General Fabio Conti, who belongs to the clique of the Marquise Raversi, receives a new prisoner. When Fabrizio is taken to prison, he meets General Clelia Conti's daughter in the courtyard of the fortress. The charm of her face, shining with pure charm, amazes Fabrizio. Rising into his cell, he thinks only of her.
Fabrizio’s cell is located in the tower of Farnese just opposite the curfew palace. Looking out the window, Fabrizio sees an aviary with bird cages. In the afternoon, Clelia comes here to feed her pets. She involuntarily raises her eyes to the window of Fabrizio and the looks of young people meet. Clelia is beautiful with extraordinary, rare beauty. But she is timid, shy and very pious.
Fabrizio’s cell window is covered with wooden shutters so that the prisoner can see only the sky. But he manages to cut through the shutter a kind of window leaf, and communication with Clelia becomes the main joy of his life.
They speak using the alphabet, Fabrizio draws letters with charcoal in the palm of his hand. He writes long letters in which he tells Clelia about his love, and with the onset of darkness he lowers them down on a rope.
In the three months that Fabrizio spent in prison, having no connection with the outside world, he hardened and turned pale, but he had never felt so happy.
Clelia is tormented by remorse, she understands that, helping the factory, betray her father. But she must save Fabrizio, whose life is constantly in danger.
The prince tells Rassi that while Fabrizio is alive, he will not feel like a sovereign master. He cannot expel the Duchess from Parma, but to see her at court is unbearable for him - it seems to him that this woman is challenging him. Fabrizio must die.
The Duchess's hatred of the prince is unlimited, but she can entrust her revenge only to one person. Disgraced poet, ardent republican Ferrante Palla is ready to fulfill her will. He secretly in love with the duchess and he has his own accounts with the monarch.
Knowing from Count Mosca what fate awaits Fabrizio, the Duchess is preparing an escape. She manages to forward him a plan of fortress and rope. But Gina does not suspect that the prisoner is not at all striving for freedom - life without Clelia would be an unbearable torment for him.
Meanwhile, the canon of the prison church, Don Cesare, is seeking permission for Fabrizio to take a daily walk. Fabrizio begs Clelia to come to the prison chapel. Lovers meet, but Clelia does not want to listen to love confessions. She orders Fabrizio to flee - every moment he spends in the fortress may cost him his life. Clelia makes a vow to the Madonna: if Fabrizio succeeds in saving herself, she will never see him again, she will submit to her father’s will and marry at his choice.
The escape succeeds, Fabrizio descends from a dizzying height and loses consciousness below. The Duchess takes him to Switzerland, they secretly live in Lugano. But Fabrizio does not share the joy of Gina. And she herself does not recognize in this depressed, immersed person her cheerful and frivolous nephew. She suspects that the reason for his constant sadness is separation from Clelia. The Duchess no longer loves Fabrizio, as she did before, but this hunch hurts her.
A servant of Count Mosca arrives in Lugano with news: the prince died unexpectedly, and in Parma there is an uprising led by Ferrante Palla.
The count suppresses the uprising and the son of the late prince, young Ernest V, ascends the throne. Now the fugitives can return to Parma.
But the sentence has not been canceled. Fabrizio is awaiting judicial review of the case, but for now he should be in prison. Without waiting for an official order, he voluntarily returns to the fortress, to his former cell. It is impossible to describe the horror of Clelia when in the camera window she again sees Fabrizio. Her father considers Fabrizio's flight a personal insult and swears that this time he will not release him alive. General Conti does not hide his intentions from Clelia. She knows that Fabrizio’s lunch is poisoned. Pushing off the jailers, she runs into his cell and knocks over a table on which lunch is already on. At this moment, Clelia is so beautiful that Fabrizio cannot fight himself. He does not meet resistance. After the cancellation of the sentence, Fabrizio becomes the main vicar at the Parma Archbishop Landriani, and after his death he himself receives the rank of archbishop. His sermons are very moving and very successful. But he is deeply unhappy. Clelia honors her vow. Obeying the will of her father, she marries the Marquis of Crescenti, the richest man in Parma, but does not cease to love Fabrizio. Her only refuge is the hope of the help of the Madonna.
Fabrizio in despair. He has changed a lot, emaciated, his eyes seem huge on his emaciated face. Clelia understands how cruel she is. She allows Fabrizio to secretly come to her, but she should not see him. Therefore, all their dates take place in complete darkness. This goes on for three years. During this time, Clelia had a son, little Sandrino. Fabrizio adores the child and wants him to live with him. But officially, the marquis of Crescenti is considered the father of the boy. Therefore, the child must be abducted, and then spread the rumor about his death. This plan succeeds, but the baby soon dies. Following him, without suffering the loss, Clelia dies. Fabrizio is close to suicide. He refuses the rank of archbishop and retires to the Parma monastery.
The Duchess of Sanseverin marries Count Mosca and leaves Parma forever. All external circumstances develop happily for her, but when, after spending only a year in the monastery, the idolized Fabrizio dies, she was able to survive it very briefly.
