As he does every year, Severino, a young hawker who goes around the festivals of the various villages in the Po Delta, returns to Migliarino to sell his knick-knacks and tell far-fetched stories about the future and progress. Besides the beautiful Marina, three gullible old friends live here, pensioners who live off poverty, to whom he proposes the sale of a hectare of sky.
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
 Marcello MastroianniSeverino Balestra | Severino Balestra |
 Rosanna SchiaffinoMarina | Marina |
 Silvio BagoliniGerminal | Germinal |
| SSalvatore CafieroNicola | Nicola |
| LLuigi De MartinoAlfredo | Alfredo |
 Carlo PisacaneCleto | Cleto |
 PolidorPedretti | Pedretti |
| AAristide SpeltaBixio | Bixio |
| MMarina De GiorgioMary II | Mary II |
| LLia FerrelMary I | Mary I |
 Ignazio LeoneRiccardo | Riccardo |
| FFelice MinottiOmero | Omero |
| LLeonilde MontesiDerna | Derna |
 Nino VingelliImpresario | Impresario |
| NNicola BongiornoThe Cannon Woman | The Cannon Woman |
| FFranca DroghettiThe wife | The wife |
 Luigi ScavranThe fowler | The fowler |
 Renato TerraThe young guard | The young guard |