Renzo Leoni

Also known as Ugo Messner, Stefano Savoca and Don Righetti, Renzo is the main character in the story whose experience as a pilot in the Absynnian war took a toll on his conscience and affected his entire life. Renzo felt that if he continued to feel guilty it would justify the fact that he lived on after bombing a hospital full of patients in Africa. He is a heavy drinker and a master of disguises and languages, and is one of the most endearing characters in the novel. Renzo is able to help little Stefania speak, he is very much loved by his mother, Lidia and by Mirella Soncini, who rejected his offer of marriage. He never stopped loving Mirella and much of his political activity was done in her best interests, even though she is married to the rabbi Iacopo and bears his children. In spite...