The Tozzonis:

• Lady Ida Lugli Tozzoni. The matriarch of the Emilian family. She moves to Villanova at the request of her son Ludovico. She teaches classes in good manners, sewing, and home economics. This is how she comes to know the Manettis.
• Virginia Tozzoni, Lady Ida’s eldest daughter. Strong-willed, she knows exactly what she wants. Much like her brother, she aims to secure a brilliant future for herself and hopes to get engaged to Piró.
• Ludovico Tozzoni, Lady Ida’s younger son. He approaches the Sért family with the intention of swindling them, but then falls in love with Teresa and asks her to marry him. Once the deception has been carried out, he finds himself unable to handle the situation, leading to a conflict with the Manettis.

The Contessis:

• Francesco Contessi, known as Frazchì ad Matìno. A town landowner who maintains a solid relationship of trust with the Manetti family.

• Maria Allegri, known as Marièla. Frazchì ad Matìno’s wife.

• Livia Contessi. The only daughter of Frazchì ad Matìno and Marièla, she stands out for her beauty. She attracts the attention of a foreign marquis, but her encounter with Piró will change everything.

• Francesca Contessi, known as Chicca. Frazchì’s sister and Livia’s aunt, she is a cheerful and outgoing character. She has worked for the Manetti family for a long time, but she wants her niece to marry Marquis Garavelli.

The Marchand family, the French:

• Frédéric Marchand, known as the Frenchman. A mysterious figure who arrived from Normandy along with his daughter and a distant relative. The villagers immediately brand him a brigand.

• Cybille Marchand, Frédéric’s daughter. Driven mad after losing her mother, she draws the town’s attention through a number of unsettling actions. She catches Agostino’s eye, and her allure makes him question the path he has chosen in life.

• Henri Boudet, Cybille’s guardian and tutor. A distant relative entrusted with watching over her. But his true identity is something else entirely, and a conspiracy will eventually come to light.

Other characters:

• Carlo Della Casa, the Sért family’s farmhand. He has just begun working as a servant in the Manetti household.
• Pasqua Castellani, known as Lina. An acquaintance of Don Mattia, she seeks him out after his return to Villanova, wanting him to acknowledge Egidio as his son. The scandal will haunt them, and the woman will have to hide at the Pascoli household for quite some time.
• Egidio Castellani. Lina’s son, a young farmer determined to protect his mother and find his father.
• Pellegrino Castellani, known as Pilirên. Lina’s brother, long considered the dark figure of their family. Old intrigues from the past will reveal murky circumstances.
• Father Giuseppe Calderoni. The archpriest of Villanova; he administers the parish and excels in coordinating the social life of the town.
• Giovanni Gulminelli, known as Zvanó. Leader of Villanova’s wheelbarrowmen. Gruff and rough-tempered, he spares no one his scoldings.
• Carlotta Cavassini. A childhood friend of Delà, she is a young woman raised in Villanova who later moved to Ferrara. Hopelessly in love with Aurelio Poletti, she will do anything to be with him, despite his attempts to push her away.
• Aurelio Poletti. A young man from Ferrara who gets engaged to Carlotta Cavassini. After some time apart he returns to Villanova to take his fiancée back with him, but later begins to have second thoughts. He, too, hides his true identity, which plays a role in one of the novel’s secondary plotlines.
• Corporal Major Gaetano Bonanni. Roman by birth, Gaetano is sent by the papal legate of Ferrara to oversee the Marchand situation. Growing closer to Henri Boudet, he discovers an attraction that leads him to abandon his mission.
• Commander-in-Chief Luigi Zanella. Head of the gendarmerie stationed in Villanova, he directs Bonanni in the secret operation aimed at unmasking the Frenchmen.
• Alessandra Menegatti, called Sandrina. Bonanni’s wife, living in Ferrara. Her arrival in Villanova will upend her husband’s plans.
• Timotea Michelotti, known as Ester. A Jewish woman who lives with Corporal Bonanni and his wife in Ferrara. She accompanies her mistress to Villanova, but she is the one who triggers chaos by uncovering Bonanni’s secret dealings.
• Pia Valentini. A farmworker employed by the Sért family, who over the course of the story grows close to the Tozzonis and ends up helping them on several occasions. An ambiguous character, she never makes clear whose side she’s truly on.
• Clementa Zannoni, known as Clementa ad Catùra. One of the Sért family’s farmworkers.
• Zenobia Cricca, known as Murètta. Alongside Clementa, she is one of the Sért farmworkers.
• Marquis Gustavo Galvanelli. A young nobleman related to the Pepoli family of Bologna; he becomes infatuated with Livia and tries every possible way to win her over.