Don Abbondio, the priest who refuses to marry the two protagonists at the start of the first part of the plot, is dually privileged: he both opens and closes the novel. He is in fact the first character to appear after the opening description of the landscape, and also the character that occupies most of the final chapter. With his incurable fear he represents humanity’s attachment to the bodily self, to life and the self-centred instinct of survival. On account of his failings, however, Don Abbondio arouses the sympathies of both reader and author, the latter using him also for comic purposes. Father Cristoforo is introduced to the reader through a digression that reconstructs his adventurous life: from a lay hero who punishes the arrogant by killing them in duels he becomes a monastic hero who continues to defend the humble and the weak (such as Lucia) by spiritual means, nonetheless preserving a characteristic energy and impulsiveness that are barely concealed in the humility and submission of monkhood. Don Rodrigo is a worthless squire and arrogant braggart who hounds pure young maidens, thus resembling a number of characters from eighteenth century romances that depict licentious behaviour. A long digression with in-depth psychological analysis and moral reflection tells the story of Gertrude, the nun of Monza, a character based on Sister Virginia de Leyva, who was forced to become a nun by her father, Prince Martino. Another historical figure, Francesco Bernardino Visconti, inspired the character known as the Innominato (the Un-Named One), a powerful example of the romantic brigand of generous sentiment who also embodies the overwhelming drama of religious conversion. Another import historical figure in the story is Cardinal Federigo Borromeo, whose life is recounted solemnly by the author, although not without occasional criticisms in spite of his status as cardinal.

Francesco Hayez, Portrait of the Innominate, oil on canvas, 1845, Private collection, Milan [in Marino Parenti, Manzoni editore, Istituto Italiano d’Arti Grafiche, Bergamo, 1943]