"Summertime"

The story focuses on Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn), a single, middle-aged "fancy secretary") from Ohio. She is on her summer vacation, enjoying her lifelong dream of a vacation in Venice after saving up money for years. During the ride on a vaporetto to the Pensione Fiorini, she meets two fellow Americans, Lloyd (MacDonald Parke) and Edith (Jane Rose) McIlhenny. At the hotel, they are greeted by Signora Fiorini (Isa Miranda), a widow who transformed her home into a pensione after World War II. Also staying at the property are Eddie Yaeger (Darren McGavin), a young American painter studying art, and his wife Phyl (Mari Aldon).

The Pensione Fiorini does not actually exist, and was more a construction the the director's imagination. The front door of the pensione opens to Rio dei Bareteri, in the sestiere of San Marco, in the heart of the Merceria.

The balcony in Miss Hudson's room is way up on Rio de la Salute, in Dorsoduro, overlooking the churches of La Salute and San Giorgio Maggiore,

...and the terrace on the Grand Canal was in fact a set built in Campo San Vio, also in the sestiere of Dorsoduro.

At the San Cristoforo bridge, Miss Hudson meets Mauro (Gaitano Audiero), a homeless local boy who makes his living by selling indecent postcards, fountain pens of dubious origin, and arranging nocturnal and illicit rendezvous for tourists and locals alike. Mauro, whom she affectionately calls "Kookie," becomes her unsolicited guide to the city.

Ponte San Cristoforo is located in the sestiere of Dorsoduro, a stone's throw away from the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, right behind Ca' Dario in Campiello Barbaro and not too far from Campo San Vio. Incidentally, the San Cristoforo bridge was used by Woody Allen in his movie "Everyone Says I Love You" for an encounter between him and Julia Roberts.

In Piazza San Marco, Miss Hudson meets Renato De Rossi (Rossano Brazzi) who smiles ever so subtly but provokes in her a cascade of emotions that sends her packing, hiding behind her sunglasses.

Miss Hudson's mix of repression and frustration is evident in one of the most poignant scenes, when immediately after the Piazza San Marco incident, she sits all by herself by the canal in Campo San Moisè.

On a sultry midsummer afternoon, Miss Hudson sets out to find Signore De Rossi's antique store, but gets lost in the attempt, overwhelmed by the Venetian geography; until Mauro comes to the rescue. She promptly enlists him to guide her to Campo San Barnaba.

The scene was probably filmed iin Piscina Sant'Agnese in Dorsoduro, not too far from the Accademia bridge and Campo San Vio.

The following day, Jane goes shopping and sees a red glass goblet in the window of an antique store. Upon entering she discovers that the owner, Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi), is the very man from whom she fled the night before. He assures her that the goblet is an authentic 18th-century artifact, and she purchases it . Hoping to see her again, Renato offers to search for a matching goblet. The next morning, Jane returns to the shop with Mauro and is disappointed to discover that Renato is not there. Jane then accidentally steps backward into a canal while filming de Rossi's shop.

That evening, he comes to her pensione and confesses his attraction for her. When Jane resists his advances, he warns her not to waste an opportunity for happiness, and she is about to agree to have dinner with him when the McIlhennys return from a shopping expedition on the island of Murano, during which they purchased a set of new red goblets similar to the one Jane bought. Renato, realizing that Jane thinks he has swindled her, assures her that some designs have been used for centuries on Murano and he insists that her goblet is an antique.

The two attend a concert at the piazza, where an orchestra plays the overture to La gazza ladra. When a flower seller approaches themJane chooses a simple gardenia instead of an orchid. Later, as the couple wanders through the city, Jane accidentally drops her gardenia into a canal; despite much effort, Renato is unable to retrieve it for her. They return to the pensione, where he kisses her, and she responds passionately and murmurs, "I love you," before rushing off to her room. The next day, she treats herself to salon treatments and new clothes in anticipation of their date that evening. While she waits for him at the piazza, Renato's assistant Vito (Jeremy Spenser) arrives and inadvertently reveals that he is Renato's son. Stunned to discover Renato is married and has several children, Jane takes refuge in a bar where she encounters Phyl, who confides that her marriage is in trouble.

Upon returning to the pensione, Jane discovers Eddie is having an affair with Signora Fiorini. Renato arrives and tells her their relationship is none of her business. He admits he is married, but claims he and his wife are separated, a fact he concealed because he did not want to scare her away. He accuses her of being immature and unwilling to accept what she can have in reality instead of just longing for more. After dinner, Jane and Renato venture to Renato's apartment and their affair is consummated.

In the movie, Renato's apartment is located on Rio de San Felice, at the foot of Ponte Chiodo, in the sestiere of Cannaregio.

After spending time with Renato on the island of Burano,

Jane, unwilling to remain in a relationship she knows is destined to end unhappily, decides to return home. Renato begs her to stay, but Jane insists it is better to leave the party before it ends. Although she asks him not to come to the train station, she hopes he will ignore her request. As the train begins to leave the station, Jane is thrilled to see Renato running toward it. He tries to hand her a package but the train is moving too quickly, so he opens it to reveal he had bought her another gardenia.