- "It was my brothers who killed him, and, if they knew I was telling you this, they would kill me, too. Still, after all these years, they would kill me. I live in fear, Father, every day of my life."
- ―Rose Marie Clericuzio[src]
Rose Marie Clericuzio was the only daughter of Don Domenico Clericuzio.
Biography[]
As a girl, she was intrigued by her cold and cruel cousin Pippi, attracted by his expansiveness and love for life and worldly feasts, but was cautiously distanced from him by her father.
Falling in love[]
She was particularly close to her younger brother Silvio, who lovingly called her Roe. As a young woman, she met and fell in love with Jimmy Santadio, son of the brutal and fierce Don Santadio, who her father Don Domenico was at war with.
Rose Marie pleaded with her father to resume negotiations with the Santadio, allowing the marriage with Jimmy, but he refused. Desperate, Rose Marie and Jimmy met in a small motel, where they called upon Silvio, the Don's favorite child, to intercede with the Don on their behalf. But then a tragedy happened which marked tragically the fate of the young and innocent Rose; Silvio was attacked and monstrously killed by Fonsa and Italo Santadio, Jimmy's brothers, who falsely suspected that Silvio was attempting to set up Jimmy.
The day of the wake, Jimmy visited Clericuzio, and tried to convince him of his and his father's innocence in Silvio's murder. Rose Marie also informed her father that she was pregnant. The Don accepted by giving his permission for the marriage, but prohibited all her relatives except Pippi, who would give her away, to attend the wedding.
Jimmy's murder[]
Rose Marie on her wedding day.
Rose Marie and Jimmy were married at Santadio mansion, and Pippi stood as witness, and was the one to catch the bridal bouquet. That evening, when the Villa dei Santadio was emptied, Pippi helped his cousins, all the living sons of Don Domenico- Rose Marie's brothers, Vincent, Petie and Giorgio- inside the residence, where they massacred the Santadio family. Pippi personally garrotted Jimmy after they dragged him from his and Rose Marie's marriage bed. Rose Marie, recognizing her brothers and cousin, lost her mind and collapsed in a trauma from which she never recovered. She was sent to Sicily to avoid her talking to the government about what she witnessed, but she was allowed to come back to the United States in time to give birth to her son, Dante Clericuzio, on American soil. All she had to remember Jimmy by was a locket with his picture which she gave to her son.
Mental health[]
- "Why don't they just kill me, and get it over with?"
- ―Rose Marie Clericuzio[src]
Rose Marie during one of her fits.
Over the years, Rose Marie cursed the family, despite her father and brothers denying their involvement in the family massacre, and told Dante every detail of his father's murder. With the worsening of her mental health, Domenico frequently hospitalised his daughter in a clinic he had helped to found. During the early 1990s, when Don Clericuzio was weaving the latest plans to transfer the Clericuzio family in legitimacy, the news came that Pippi was assassinated in Los Angeles. Dante was responsible, though Don Domenico did not want to acknowledge this. After having a fit, her father sent Rose Marie back to the clinic. During a visit, Rose Marie confirmed Pippi's son Cross' suspicions that Dante was responsible when she asked if he blamed her for what had happened to his father. Cross killed Dante in retaliation and her son's body was never found.
A new love[]
Rose Marie and Father Luca.
After Dante's death, Rose Marie became increasingly reliant on her confessor, Father Luca Tonarini, who she revealed many deep family secrets to. It was Father Luca who stopped her when she began to attack her father's body as he lay in state. Rose Marie was convinced that Dante was still alive and that her brothers had incarcerated him, but Luca managed to finally put these thoughts to rest. Unfortunately, she soon discovered that Cross had been behind the murder and tried to stab him in his sleep.
For a while, the two were involved in a deeply passionate affair, until Father Luca realized he could not put his own happiness ahead of his vows to God, and left Rose Marie on her own once more, despite her willingness to support him in his move to Belfast. Unfortunately, Father Luca died during a protest soon after.
Rose Marie eventually decided to move on with her life and left the family home which had oppressed her for so many years, leaving to go to Bali.
Personality and traits[]
Rose Marie was a caring and loving girl, adored by her entire family and doted on by her father, though her old fashioned view of romance led the two of them to clash on several occasions. After the murder of her husband, her mental health was destroyed and she became cold and distant, prone to fits and only showing love to her son Dante, though she maintained a cautious respect for her father. She held her deepest hatred for Pippi, who she knew had personally killed her husband.
Behind the scenes[]
She was played in her youth by Emily Hampshire and as an adult by Kirstie Alley.