Character Relationship Map: Kidnapped

Characters

• Edgardo Mortara (child) (played by Enea Sala) — protagonist

  A Jewish child secretly baptized by a Christian maid and forcibly removed from his family at age seven. He is taken to Rome and raised in a Catholic institution, while secretly continuing to recite th...

• Edgardo Mortara (played by Leonardo Maltese) — protagonist

  The adult Edgardo, raised and educated as a Catholic under the pope, adopts the clerical name Pio Maria and becomes a priest, missionary, and preacher. He rejects the chance to return to his family, a...

• Momolo Mortara (played by Fausto Russo Alesi) — supporting

  Edgardo's father, who campaigns publicly against his son's removal and seeks permission to visit him in Rome. He treats Edgardo with emotional detachment during the visit, and later refuses to convert...

• Marianna Mortara (played by Barbara Ronchi) — supporting

  Edgardo's mother, who publicly fights to recover her son and visits him in Rome. She learns that he still secretly recites the Shema Yisrael, later refuses his attempt to baptize her, and insists on l...

• Anna Morisi (played by Aurora Camatti) — minor
• Riccardo Mortara (played by Samuele Teneggi) — supporting

  One of Edgardo's older brothers and a soldier in the army occupying Rome. After the city joins the Kingdom of Italy, he finds Edgardo and tells him that he can finally return home.

• Pier Gaetano Feletti (played by Fabrizio Gifuni) — supporting

  The head of the Bolognese office of the Holy Inquisition who decides to remove Edgardo from his Jewish family because the child is considered irrevocably Catholic under the law. After Bologna changes...

Canonical Relationships

Family, romantic, and professional connections based on plot evidence.

• Pier Gaetano Feletti → Edgardo Mortara (child) (Power Religious Authority) — An authority figure who enforces the Papal States' religious law against Edgardo.

  As head of the Bolognese office of the Holy Inquisition, Feletti decides to remove Edgardo from his family after learning of the baptism.

• Anna Morisi → Edgardo Mortara (child) (Power Secret Baptizer) — Her secret religious act triggers the legal seizure of Edgardo.

  Believing the sick child was dying, Anna secretly administers baptism to Edgardo because she fears he would otherwise enter limbo.

• Edgardo Mortara (child) → Edgardo Mortara (Temporal Same Person Across Time) — The two listed portrayals represent Edgardo at different ages.

  The plot follows Edgardo from childhood through adulthood, stating that he grows up in the care of the Catholic Church and later becomes a priest.

• Riccardo Mortara → Edgardo Mortara (Family Older Brother) — An older brother who attempts to restore Edgardo's connection with the family.

  The plot states that Riccardo is one of Edgardo's older brothers and searches for him after Rome is incorporated into the Kingdom of Italy.

• Marianna Mortara → Edgardo Mortara (Family Mother) — A painful maternal relationship at the end of the family conflict.

  Years later, Edgardo returns to see his dying mother Marianna after previously refusing to attend his father's funeral.

• Momolo Mortara → Edgardo Mortara (Family Father) — The adult Edgardo remains connected to the father who fought for his return.

  Momolo remains Edgardo's father after Edgardo reaches adulthood and campaigns against his removal from the family.

• Marianna Mortara → Edgardo Mortara (child) (Family Mother) — A mother who maintains an intimate emotional bond with her abducted child.

  The plot identifies Marianna as Edgardo's mother. During their permitted visit, Edgardo cries and reveals to her that he still recites the Shema Yisra...

• Momolo Mortara → Edgardo Mortara (child) (Family Father) — A father separated from his young son by the authorities.

  The plot identifies Momolo as Edgardo's father and shows him trying to recover his son after the forced removal.

Story Dynamics

Alliances, conflicts, and narrative interactions that evolve throughout the story.

• Pier Gaetano Feletti → Marianna Mortara (Conflict Legal Adversary) — Feletti's enforcement separates Marianna from her child.

  The trial reconstructs how Feletti authorized the removal of Marianna's son after the reported baptism.

• Pier Gaetano Feletti → Momolo Mortara (Conflict Legal Adversary) — Feletti's decision places him in legal conflict with Edgardo's father.

  After Bologna is taken from the pope, Feletti is arrested and tried in the Mortara case while Momolo's family seeks justice for Edgardo's removal.

Story Analysis

A child taken because of a disputed baptism grows into a man whose imposed religious identity permanently separates him from his family.

Plot Progression

1. The Baptism That Changed Everything — Anna Morisi secretly baptizes the sick Edgardo, who survives. Seven years later, the report of the baptism gives Feletti a legal basis to remove the child from his Jewish family.
2. A Child Taken to Rome — Edgardo is forcibly taken to Rome and placed in the Casa dei Catecumeni. His parents publicize the case, while Edgardo is absorbed into a Catholic educational environment.
3. The Visit and the Failed Rescue — Momolo and Marianna visit Edgardo, who privately reveals that he still recites the Shema. Visits are then forbidden unless the family converts, and an attempted kidnapping fails.
4. Law, War, and Irreversible Choice — Political change brings Feletti to trial, but the court confirms that the baptism was valid and acquits him. Years later, Riccardo offers Edgardo a return home, which Edgardo rejects.
5. The Final Family Rupture — Edgardo returns when Marianna is dying and tries to baptize her. She refuses, and his siblings drive him away, completing the family's final separation.