After six months spent meditating in the high mountains, Don Donato returns to Pellizzano to pack his bags and leave for Rome, where he will return to wearing civilian clothes. However, he finds the country much changed, full of arcades and women of easy virtue.

While preparations for the wedding between Luna and Luigi are in full swing, Angelo, the bishop's twin brother, unexpectedly drops into the rectory with the intention of recovering an inheritance that he has not yet pocketed: 12 gold bars.