Annibale Canessa and Ivan Repetto, the main characters in the novel, belong to the Carabinieri, Italy’s national gendarmerie. Carabinieri are one of the four major branches of Italian law enforcement, alongside the Polizia (Police), the Guardia di Finanza (Finance Police), and the Army proper, from which they split in 2001. Their duties overlap with the Polizia, though they are also employed to police the military, and are regularly deployed alongside the latter in missions abroad.
Their ranking system follows its own rules, though names may be similar to other forces, and are divided into four major careers: Officer, Inspector, Superintendent, and Carabiniere. Throughout the text, Canessa follows the Officer path, eventually leaving the force as a Colonel, while Repetto remains in the Inspector bracket, leaving with the role of First Marshal.
Their official motto is Nei Secoli Fedele – ‘Loyal through the centuries’ – which is not dissimilar to the US Marine Corps’ Semper Fidelis. One of their unofficial sayings, however, can also be found in the text: Usi Obbedir Tacendo [e Tacendo Morir] (lit. ‘used to obey in silence, and in silence die’); this is a quotation from the poem ‘La Rassegna di Novara’ by Costantino Nigra, in which the poet uses the line to describe the Carabinieri as King of Sardinia Charles Albert looks over the various parts of what will eventually become the Royal Italian Army.