{ "id": "epx3cm4dsa", "slug": "devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire", "title": "Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama", "label": "Family and relationship drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama.family-and-domestic-drama", "label": "Family and domestic drama", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama.family-and-domestic-drama" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama.family-and-domestic-drama.romance-and-couple-dramas", "label": "Romance and couple dramas", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama.family-and-domestic-drama.romance-and-couple-dramas" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Western Europe · 2021 and later: Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021", "label": "Western Europe · 2021 and later", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series", "label": "Series and fictional screen worlds", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv", "label": "Scripted television and comedy series", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series", "label": "Drama and prestige series (individual series)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t2021.culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire (Fedeltà) is a 2022 Italian Netflix miniseries, six episodes adapted from Marco Missiroli's Strega Giovani-winning novel, directed by Andrea Molaioli and Stefano Cipani, starring Michele Riondino and Lucrezia Guidone as a Milan couple facing suspected infidelity.", "snippet": "Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire (Fedeltà) is a 2022 Italian Netflix miniseries, six episodes adapted from Marco Missiroli's Strega Giovani-winning novel, directed by Andrea Molaioli and Stefano Cipani, starring Michele Riondino and Lucrezia Guidone as a Milan couple facing suspected infidelity.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.series.series_scripted_tv.drama-prestige-series.family-and-relationship-drama.family-and-domestic-drama.romance-and-couple-dramas", "markdown": "# Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire\n\n**Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire** (Italian: *Fedeltà*) is a 2022 Italian drama miniseries produced for Netflix, adapted from Marco Missiroli's bestselling 2019 novel of the same name. Its six episodes follow Carlo and Margherita, a married couple in Milan whose relationship is destabilized when the husband's faithfulness is called into question and both spouses become tempted by other desires.[1](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire) • [2](https://www.comingsoon.it/serietv/fedelta/3343/scheda/) The series premiered on Netflix on February 14, 2022, with all six episodes released the same day.[3](https://theenvoyweb.com/news/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-teaser/) • [4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire/s01)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | *Fedeltà* (Italian for \"Fidelity\"); English title also rendered as *Fidelity* in the United States[2](https://www.comingsoon.it/serietv/fedelta/3343/scheda/) • [5](https://helposter.com/tv/155795-155795-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire) |\n| Format | Six-episode Italian-language miniseries, about 40 minutes per episode, rated TV-MA[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire/s01) • [6](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/53498/fedelta) |\n| Premiere | February 14, 2022, on Netflix; status ended after one season[3](https://theenvoyweb.com/news/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-teaser/) • [5](https://helposter.com/tv/155795-155795-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire) |\n| Source | Marco Missiroli's 2019 novel *Fedeltà*, a number one bestseller in Italy, winner of the Strega Prize Giovani 2019 and finalist for the 73rd Strega Prize[3](https://theenvoyweb.com/news/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-teaser/) |\n| Directors | Andrea Molaioli and Stefano Cipani[7](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html) |\n| Writers | Alessandro Fabbri, Elisa Amoruso, and Laura Colella[7](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html) |\n| Production | BiBi Film; budget €8,339,583.11[7](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Premise and characters\n\nCarlo Pentecoste, played by Michele Riondino, is a writer in his forties, author of a successful novel, who teaches at a well-known writing school in Milan. His wife Margherita Verna, played by Lucrezia Guidone, is an architect who gave up her ambitions as an interior designer for a quieter life as a real-estate agent. The suspicion that Carlo has drifted toward a twenty-year-old student sets off tension that derails the couple in a sequence of missteps.[8](https://www.commissionefilmcei.it/film/fedelta/)\n\nThe inciting incident comes at the end of the first episode, when something happens between Carlo and his student Sofia Casadei (Carolina Sala) in a bathroom; both insist nothing occurred, but the event plants the seed of doubt in Margherita's mind, followed by jealousy and uncertainty. In parallel, Margherita is drawn to Andrea (Leonardo Pazzagli), her physiotherapist, whom she sees for a chronic condition.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire/s01) • [9](https://www.sorozatjunkie.hu/2022/04/02/fedelta-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-irta-speranza/) The supporting cast includes Maria Paiato as Anna Verna, Maurizio Donadoni as Paolo Pentecoste, Maurizio Lastrico as Marco, Sara Lazzaro as Giulia, Gianluca Gobbi as Luca, and Elisa Di Eusanio as Eva.[7](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html)\n\nThe story's framing question, posed in the teaser, is whether fidelity is something owed to others or to oneself.[3](https://theenvoyweb.com/news/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-teaser/) The series is a work of fiction, not an adaptation of real events, though it draws on recognizable dynamics of jealousy, betrayal, love, and insecurity in a marriage.[10](https://thecinemaholic.com/is-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-a-true-story-where-is-it-filmed/)\n\n## Adaptation from the novel\n\nThe screenplay, led by head writer Alessandro Fabbri with Elisa Amoruso and Laura Colella, departs from Missiroli's novel at many points, retaining mainly the foundations and the spine of the story; the Hungarian-language review in Sorozatjunkie judged the adaptation to have improved on the source in several respects. Missiroli himself did not take part in the writing, though he appears briefly in a cameo as himself, a Strega Giovani-winning novelist, at a symposium.[9](https://www.sorozatjunkie.hu/2022/04/02/fedelta-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-irta-speranza/) • [11](https://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/cinema-serie-tv/22_marzo_09/fedelta-serie-tradisce-libro-missiroli-una-milano-finta-modaiola-voto-5-a407a0ee-9e1f-11ec-aa45-e6507f140451_amp.html)\n\nThe adaptation also shifts the novel's emphasis. Where the book relies on internal monologue and a slower, more contemplative treatment of its characters' inner lives, the series translates these into dialogue and visual shorthand, streamlines the protagonists' motivations, and compresses or omits subplots. Most notably, the ending differs in tone: Missiroli's conclusion leaves lingering questions about faithfulness and desire, while the series tends toward resolution.[12](https://moviereads.com/tvseries/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-2022) Maurizio Porro's review in *Corriere della Sera* argued that little of the author's cool, quasi-scientific analysis of the concept of fidelity survives the transfer, giving the series a score of 5.[11](https://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/cinema-serie-tv/22_marzo_09/fedelta-serie-tradisce-libro-missiroli-una-milano-finta-modaiola-voto-5-a407a0ee-9e1f-11ec-aa45-e6507f140451_amp.html)\n\n## Production and setting\n\nThe miniseries was produced by BiBi Film, with Angelo Barbagallo, Matilde Barbagallo, Gianfranco Barbagallo, and Maria Panicucci as producers, and was filmed mainly in Milan, with additional shooting in Rimini and Rome.[2](https://www.comingsoon.it/serietv/fedelta/3343/scheda/) • [3](https://theenvoyweb.com/news/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-teaser/) Recognizable Milan locations include Parco Sempione, San Babila, the Duomo, the towers of Piazza della Repubblica and Gae Aulenti, City Life, Terrazza Martini, and the Navigli.[2](https://www.comingsoon.it/serietv/fedelta/3343/scheda/) Gian Enrico Bianchi (credited as Gogò Bianchi) served as director of photography, Teho Teardo composed the score, and Lorenzo Peluso edited.[7](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html) • [8](https://www.commissionefilmcei.it/film/fedelta/) The soundtrack includes the original song \"Verosimile,\" performed by Arisa and written by Stefano Cipani, Arisa, and Mario Fanizzi, who also produced it; Cipani described it as intended to represent the emotions and disruptive force of the book.[2](https://www.comingsoon.it/serietv/fedelta/3343/scheda/)\n\nNetflix scheduled the release for [Valentine's Day](https://www.edgepedia.org/valentines-day), February 14, 2022, at 8:00 AM GMT in the United States.[13](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81058385) Italian commentary noted the irony of launching a drama about betrayal on that date.[14](https://www.moige.it/wp-content/uploads/zapping_22_low-1.pdf)\n\n## Reception\n\nAudience and critical scores were middling. IMDb lists 6.4/10 and The Movie Database 63/100.[15](https://latestnetflix.com/series/155795) Rotten Tomatoes shows an 85% Tomatometer from only two reviews, with fewer than 50 audience ratings.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire/s01) MYmovies.it recorded an aggregate of 2.45 out of 5 across six reviews.[16](https://www.mymovies.it/film/2022/fedelta/)\n\n**Italian critics were divided.** Wired Italia praised the cast and a script that does justice to the feelings it depicts, reading the series as a reflection on fidelity as both the glue of bourgeois convention and a cage in which daily instincts and intimate insecurities collide.[17](https://www.wired.it/article/fedelta-serie-missiroli-netflix-recensione/) BadTaste.it found the treatment of fidelity interesting but judged the secondary characters and situations thin and some plot turns unconvincing.[18](https://www.badtaste.it/recensioni/fedelta-la-recensione-serie-netflix) The CEI national film evaluation commission described the series as complex, problematic, and suited to debate, crediting the direction and lead performances while finding the secondary storylines weaker.[8](https://www.commissionefilmcei.it/film/fedelta/)\n\n**English-language reviews** were similarly mixed. The Review Geek gave the season 6/10, calling it \"a show of moments\" with strong scenes undermined by pacing problems in the middle episodes and a dissonant use of pop music over dramatic montages, and comparing it unfavorably in approach to HBO's *Scenes from a Marriage*.[19](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/devotion-storyoflovedesire-s1review/) Ready Steady Cut's reviewer called it \"undoubtedly a brilliant drama about a faltering marriage\" while doubting it was a good Valentine's Day watch.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire/s01) Screenwise placed it in a middling band, noting that its generic English title leads parents to confuse it with the 2022 American war film *[Devotion](https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-2022-film)* about Navy fighter pilots.[20](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/devotion-show)\n\n## International titles and availability\n\nThe series circulated under several localized titles: *Fedeltà* (Italian), *Treue* (German), *Αφοσίωση* (Greek), *Fidelidad* (Spanish), *Chaque fidélité* (French), *Wierność* (Polish), and *Fideli* (Romanian), with the worldwide English title *Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire* and *Fidelity* used in the United States.[7](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html) • [5](https://helposter.com/tv/155795-155795-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire) It remained available on Netflix in Italy and many other countries, with audio tracks in Italian, English, French, German, and Spanish, among others, and an English dub recorded in the United States with Mark Lewis as Carlo and [Annie Wersching](https://www.edgepedia.org/annie-wersching) as Margherita.[21](https://it.flixboss.com/s/fedelta-81058385) • [22](https://dubbing.fandom.com/wiki/Devotion%2C_a_Story_of_Love_and_Desire)\n\n## References\n\n1. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire)\n2. [Fedeltà – Serie TV (2022), ComingSoon.it](https://www.comingsoon.it/serietv/fedelta/3343/scheda/)\n3. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire: Release date, cast and teaser, The Envoy Web](https://theenvoyweb.com/news/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-teaser/)\n4. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire: Season 1, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/devotion_a_story_of_love_and_desire/s01)\n5. [Where to Watch Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire, Helposter](https://helposter.com/tv/155795-155795-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire)\n6. [Fedeltà, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/shows/53498/fedelta)\n7. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire, Crew United](https://www.crew-united.com/en/Devotion-a-Story-of-Love-and-Desire__321983.html)\n8. [Fedeltà, Commissione Nazionale Valutazione Film](https://www.commissionefilmcei.it/film/fedelta/)\n9. [Fedeltà (Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire), Sorozatjunkie](https://www.sorozatjunkie.hu/2022/04/02/fedelta-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-irta-speranza/)\n10. [Is Devotion, A Story of Love and Desire a True Story? Where is it Filmed?, The Cinemaholic](https://thecinemaholic.com/is-devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-a-true-story-where-is-it-filmed/)\n11. [«Fedeltà», la serie tradisce il libro di Missiroli, Corriere della Sera](https://www.corriere.it/spettacoli/cinema-serie-tv/22_marzo_09/fedelta-serie-tradisce-libro-missiroli-una-milano-finta-modaiola-voto-5-a407a0ee-9e1f-11ec-aa45-e6507f140451_amp.html)\n12. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire, Movie Reads](https://moviereads.com/tvseries/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire-2022)\n13. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire, Netflix Media Center](https://media.netflix.com/en/only-on-netflix/81058385)\n14. [Zapping 2022 circular, MOIGE](https://www.moige.it/wp-content/uploads/zapping_22_low-1.pdf)\n15. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire (2022), Latest Netflix](https://latestnetflix.com/series/155795)\n16. [Fedeltà (2022), MYmovies.it](https://www.mymovies.it/film/2022/fedelta/)\n17. [Fedeltà, la serie che racconta amore e disamore, Wired Italia](https://www.wired.it/article/fedelta-serie-missiroli-netflix-recensione/)\n18. [Fedeltà: la recensione, BadTaste.it](https://www.badtaste.it/recensioni/fedelta-la-recensione-serie-netflix)\n19. [Devotion: A Story of Love and Desire Season 1 Review, The Review Geek](https://www.thereviewgeek.com/devotion-storyoflovedesire-s1review/)\n20. [Devotion – WISE Score & Parent Review, Screenwise](https://screenwiseapp.com/media/devotion-show)\n21. [Fedeltà (2021) – Netflix Italia, Flixboss](https://it.flixboss.com/s/fedelta-81058385)\n22. [Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire, Dubbing Wikia](https://dubbing.fandom.com/wiki/Devotion%2C_a_Story_of_Love_and_Desire)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Series and fictional screen worlds › Scripted television and comedy series › Drama and prestige series (individual series) › Family and relationship drama › Family and domestic drama › Romance and couple dramas*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire](https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire](https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/devotion-a-story-of-love-and-desire. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Devotion, a Story of Love and Desire is a 2022 Italian Netflix miniseries, six episodes adapted from Marco Missiroli's Strega Giovani-winning novel, directed by Andrea Molaioli and Stefano Cipani, starring Michele Riondino and Lucrezia Guidone as a Milan couple facing suspected infidelity." }