The film met with vehement opposition from the Italian government and was banned from export after it received the Special Jury Award at Cannes.
In the book by Vasco Pratolini, 'La Signora' is clearly a lesbian figure entertaining very ambiguous relationship with her young female servants. This fact was omitted from the film because the Italian censorship would not allow homosexuals to be portrayed on screen at the time.
Apart from the fact that dubbing was common practice in Italian cinema at the time, most actors were dubbed as the film makers wanted to retain the regional Florentine accent so important in the book.
Luchino Visconti had attempted to adapt the novel into a film four years prior but the project was scrapped due to opposition from Italian censors.