In this article we report some results obtained during 20 years of collaboration with the group of Prof. Balzani. The small review covers Ruthenium and some Osmium compounds, from cage to multinuclear complexes and molecular switches. The review does not intend to be comprehensive but it is only a general overview of the most important achievements in the field of photophysics and photochemistry of luminescent metal complexes. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.