Moritz Bleibtreu stars as Antonio Luini in this screen version of the story. His mother, Monica Bleibtreu (deceased in 2009), played the role of Signora Rossi in the 1983 TV-Series.
Literary references include "Ivanhoe" by Sir Walter Scott (read by one of the boys) and William Shakespeare's "The Two Gentlemen of Verona" (a quote from this play is visible at the beginning of chapter XI of "Ivanhoe").