The nineteen twenties ushered in sound in cinema. Italy's L.U.C.E. [L'Unione Cinematografica Educativa or Educational Film Union] was founded in 1924 and generated the fascist regime's cinematic propaganda.

Soon after the introduction of talkies, dubbing came about in the thirties. Dubbing was extremely popular in Italy and remains so today.

Schools in fascist Italy banned the study of dialects and moved to using standardized textbooks. The fascist hymn “Viva Adua nostra” refers to a battle won by the Kingdom of Italy in 1896 near Adwa, Ethiopia.

This segment opens with a sort of poem, demonstrating how kids growing up in fascist Italy were expected to behave. Minority groups had a pretty hard time, too.

Mussolini inveighs against the middle class, saying that it is the enemy of fascism. Much of the footage in this segment features EUR, the Rome district that was built in the 30s and 40s.

The segment looks at the Royal Academy of Italy's dictionary of Italian, which was filled with quotes from Mussolini. By the end of World War II, the dictionary had gotten to the letter “C.”

After the war came TV. It changed everything, and provided a new way to unify the Italian language and teach people reading and writing.

The narrator goes over the vanishingly small number of expressions coined during Mussolini's time that are still in use today. The song that gives the series its name is provided in full.

Marika tells us the true story of Father Christmas. Saint Nicholas was a bishop who was imprisoned in the fourth century after Christ, when Christians were being persecuted. Curious to hear more? Then listen to Marika.

Here we go with the second part of the story. Marika tells how the legend of Saint Nicholas became famous through the world and how he came to be known as Santa Claus, who brings presents to children.

Lorenzo Jovanotti, famous Italian singer-songwriter, celebrates the 150th anniversary of Italy’s Unification, on March 17th, 2011. He delivers best wishes to all Italians, and sings "Fratelli d’Italia" [Brothers of Italy], the Italian national anthem, otherwise known as the "Inno di Mameli" [Hymn of Mameli].

Franco Calafatti knows a great deal about spices but he also loves to experiment. The star of this segment is cinnamon.

This fascinating segment is all about salt: Our spice journey takes us to Sicily, where much of Italy's salt is harvested. Franco talks about how salt is life, salt is gold.

Franco shows us some infused salts that we would never think of off hand. His descriptions are colorful and make us want to try out these delicacies.

Franco is crazy about spices. He draws us into his world, the world of the 7 (not just 5) senses. In his stream of consciousness style, he prepares us for traveling the four corners of the earth to discover all the tastes and fragrances awaiting us.