The archbishop that appears occasionally in the series is a fictive character, however in the time of the series plot, in real life, on the throne of Milano' archdiocese had been no one other but Giovani Batista Montini, who later become pope Paul VI.
Beside Vittorio, the only original character, who has appeared in the first two seasons and later, is Don Saverio. However two actors had role of the priest one in the first 2 seasons and the other later.
An Itailian remake of the English series The Paradise, though set 100 years later and in Italy. The story is almost identical, though with a few minor changes to reflect a different setting.