The movie makes extensive reference to two famous Italian artists: several shots of Tara are based on Giorgio De Chirico's paintings, while the opening credits show some paintings of Antonio Ligabue's.
Strategia del ragno (1970) and Il conformista (1970) were both made by Bernardo Bertolucci within a 12 or 18 month period and both were released in the same year.
The short story "Tema del traidor y del héroe" (Theme of the Traitor and the Hero) by Jorge Luis Borges, that this film is based on, was set in nineteenth-century Ireland and was only 2 pages long.