Paolo Farina

Paolo Farina is a kind and stable man, who marries Angiola after she is dumped by a previous lover. After only six months of marriage, she leaves him for a man in a local acting troupe. He knows in the back of his mind that she is never going to love him as his wife. He fools himself that she has the right background and uses it to convince others in his village, although they also know that the marriage is a sham from the beginning. No one is terribly surprised by the breakup. As a way of dealing with his grief, Paolo seeks the company of a prostitute in Rome. Although he goes to Rome frequently for business trips, he now goes more than he needs to. He sees Lina regularly, once a week.

While in Rome he also visits Rosalia di Credo, who is Angiola's...