Thefather, a porter at the city hall.
Themother, a housewife.
The Carracci family (Don Achille’s family):
Don Achille Carracci, dealer in the black market, loan shark. He was murdered.
Maria Carracci, wife of Don Achille, mother of Stefano, Pinuccia, and Alfonso. The daughter of Stefano and Ada Cappuccio bears her name.
Stefano Carracci, son of Don Achille, shopkeeper and Lila’s first husband. Dissatisfied by his stormy marriage to Lila, he initiates a relationship with Ada Cappuccio, and they start living together. He is the father of Gennaro, with Lila, and of Maria, with Ada.
Pinuccia, daughter of Don Achille. She is married to Lila’s brother, Rino, and has two sons with him.
Alfonso, son of Don Achille. He resigns himself to marrying Marisa Sarratore after a long engagement.
The Peluso family (the carpenter’s family):
Alfredo Peluso, carpenter and Communist, dies in prison.
Giuseppina Peluso, devoted wife of Alfredo, commits suicide after his death.
Pasquale Peluso, older son of Alfredo and Giuseppina, construction worker, militant Communist.
Carmela Peluso, called Carmen. Pasquale’s sister, she was the girlfriend of Enzo Scanno for a long time. She subsequently marries Roberto, the owner of the gas pump on the stradone, with whom she has two children.
Other children.
The Cappuccio family (the mad widow’s family):
Melina, a widow, a relative of Nunzia Cerullo. She nearly lost her mind after her relationship with Donato Sarratore ended.
Melina’s husband, who died in mysterious circumstances.
Ada Cappuccio, Melina’s daughter. For a long time the girlfriend of Pasquale Peluso, she becomes the lover of Stefano Carracci, and goes to live with him. From their relationship a girl, Maria, is born.
Antonio Cappuccio, her brother, a mechanic. He was Elena’s boyfriend.
Other children.
The Sarratore family (the railway-worker poet’s family):
Donato Sarratore, a great womanizer, who was the lover of Melina Cappuccio. Elena, too, at a very young age, gives herself to him on the beach in Ischia, driven by the suffering that the relationship between Nino and Lila has caused her.
Lidia Sarratore, wife of Donato.
Nino Sarratore, the oldest of the five children of Donato and Lidia, has a long secret affair with Lila. Married to Eleonora, with whom he has Albertino and Lidia, he begins an affair with Elena, who is also married and has children.
Marisa Sarratore, sister of Nino. Married to Alfonso Carracci. She becomes the lover of Michele Solara, with whom she has two children.
Pino, Clelia, and Ciro Sarratore, younger children of Donato and Lidia.
The Scanno family (the fruit-and-vegetable seller’s family):
Nicola Scanno, fruit-and-vegetable seller, dies of pneumonia.
Assunta Scanno, wife of Nicola, dies of cancer.
Enzo Scanno, son of Nicola and Assunta, also a fruit-and-vegetable seller. He was for a long time the boyfriend of Carmen Peluso. He takes on responsibility for Lila and her son, Gennaro, when she leaves Stefano Carracci, and takes them to live in San Giovanni a Teduccio.
Other children.
The Solara family (the family of the owner of the Solara bar-pastry shop):
Silvio Solara, owner of the bar-pastry shop.
Manuela Solara, wife of Silvio, moneylender. As an old woman, she is killed in the doorway of her house.
Marcello and Michele Solara, sons of Silvio and Manuela. Rejected by Lila, Marcello, after many years, goes to live with Elisa, Elena’s younger sister. Michele, married to Gigliola, the daughter of the pastry maker, takes Marisa Sarratore as his lover, and has two more children with her. Yet he continues to be obsessed with Lila.
The Spagnuolo family (the baker’s family):
Signor Spagnuolo, pastry maker at the Solaras’ bar-pastry shop.
Rosa Spagnuolo, wife of the pastry maker.
Gigliola Spagnuolo, daughter of the pastry maker, wife of Michele Solara and mother of two of his children.
Other children.
The Airota family:
Guido Airota, professor of Greek literature.
Adele Airota, his wife.
Mariarosa Airota, their daughter, professor of art history in Milan.
