| Adele | Airota | Professor Airota's wife. |
| Pietro | Airota | Elena Greco's boyfriend. |
| Paul | Anka | A Canadian singer, songwriter and actor . |
| Michaelangelo | Antonioni | An Italian film director. |
| Samuel | Beckett | An Irish novelist, playwright, short story writer. |
| Mike | Bongiorno | An American-Italian television host. |
| Rossano | Brazzi | Italian actor. |
| Melina | Cappuccio | Antonio and Ada's mother. |
| Renato | Carosone | Italian musician. |
| Maria | Carracci | Stefano's mother. |
| Stefano | Carracci | Lila's husband. Aka: Stef. |
| Fernando | Cerullo | Lila's father. A shoemaker. |
| Nunzia | Cerullo | Lila's mother. |
| Raffaella | Cerullo | Elena's best friend. Aka: Lila; Lina; Signora Raffaella Carracci. |
| Federico | Chabod | An Italian historian. |
| Angelo Fausto | Coppi | An Italian cyclist. |
| Marie | Curie | A French-Polish physicist. |
| Vittorio | De Sica | Italian director and actor. |
| Grazia | Deledda | An Italian writer. |
| Danilo | Dolci | An Italian social activist, sociologist. |
| Federico | Fellini | An Italian film director. |
| Maestro | Ferraro | A teacher and librarian. |
| Rogelio | Frigerio | An Argentine economist and politician. |
| Professor | Galiani | A high school teacher. |
| Ava | Gardner | American actress. |
| Odin | Gray | A novelist. |
| Elena | Greco | A writer. Aka: Lenu; Lenuccia. |
| Nella | Incardo | Maestro Oliviero's cousin. |
| Nilde | Iotti | An Italian politician. |
| Jennifer | Jones | American actress. |
| Jacqueline | Kennedy | Former First Lady of the United States. |
| Johannes | Kepler | A German astronomer, mathematician. |
| Martin Luther | King Jr. | An American Christian minister and activist. |
| Giacomo | Leopardi | An Italian philosopher, poet, essayist, and philologist. |
| Franco | Mari | Elena Greco's classmate. |
| Dmitri | Mendeleev | A Russian chemist and inventor. |
| Giuseppe | Montalenti | An Italian geneticist. |
| Maestra | Oliviero | A teacher. |
| Pier Paolo | Pasolini | An Italian film director. |
| Giuseppina | Peluso | Pasquale's mother. |
| Jean | Piaget | A Swiss psychologist. |
| Don Carlo | Resta | A businessman. |
| Daniel | Rooney | An American executive and diplomat. |
| Beltrand | Russell | A British philosopher. |
| Donato | Sarratore | A journalist. |
| Nino | Sarratore | Oldest son of Donato Sarratore. |
| Assunta | Scanno | Enzo's mother. |
| Enzo | Scanno | Lila's childhood friend and admirer. |
| Nicola | Scanno | A fruit-and-vegetable seller. |
| Bruno | Soccavo | Nino's friend. |
| Manuela | Solara | Marcello and Michele's mother. Aka: Signora Solara. |
| Marcello | Solara | Lila's suitor. Aka: Marce. |
| Silvio | Solara | Marcello and Michele's father. |
| Leon | Trotsky | A politician. |
| Esther | Williams | An American competitive swimmer and actress. |
| Nicolo Antonio | Zingarelli | An Italian composer. |
| Ada | | Pasquale's fiancé. |
| Airota | | Professor of Greek literature. |
| Alfonso | | Stefano's brother. |
| Anaximander | | A Greek philosopher. |
| Antonio | | Elena's boyfriend. Aka: Anto. |
| Armando | | Professor Galiani's son. |
| Carlo | | One of Armando's acquaintances. |
| Carmela | | Pasquale's sister. Aka: Carmen. |
| Ciro | | One of Lidia's children. |
| Clelia | | One of Lidia's children. |
| Dido | | An English singer and songwriter. |
| Don Achille | | Stefano's father. |
| Elisa | | Elena's sister. |
| Fabrizio | | Alfonso's friend. |
| Fernando | | Pinuccia's son. Aka: Dino |
| Gallese | | A shop owner. |
| Gennaro | | Lila's son. Aka: Rinuccio. |
| Gianni | | One of Elena's brothers. |
| Gigliona | | Michele Solara's fiancé. |
| Gina | | Adele Airota's acquaintance. |
| Gino | | A pharmacist's son. |
| Hesiod | | A Greek poet. |
| Lello | | Gigliola's brother. |
| Leone | | One of Armando's acquaintances. |
| Lidia | | Donato Sarratore's wife. |
| Linda | | The stationer's daughter. |
| Madonna | | An American singer-songwriter. |
| Maria | | Ada's daughter. |
| Mariarosa | | Pietro's sister. |
| Marisa | | Alfonso's girlfriend. |
| Michele | | Marcello's brother. Aka: Miche. |
| Nadia | | Professor Galiani's daughter. |
| Pasquale | | Lila's friend. Aka: Pasque. |
| Peppe | | One of Elena's brothers. |
| Pino | | One of Lidia's children. |
| Pinuccia | | Stefano's sister. Aka: Pina. |
| Plato | | An Athenian philosopher. |
| Prince Andrew | | A member of the British Royal family. |
| Rino | | Lila's brother. |
| Soraya | | An American singer-songwriter. |
| Titina | | Lila's neighbor. Aka: Titi. |
