| Northern Italy, 1327. The Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young apprentice Adso of Melk reach an isolated Benedictine abbey on the Alps to aid in a dispute between the Franciscan Order and the Avignon papacy. Upon arrival at the abbey, the two find themselves involved in a chain of mysterious deaths. |
| Name | Character | Episodes |
|---|---|---|
| John Turturro | William of Baskerville | 8 |
| Damian Hardung | Adso of Melk | 8 |
| James Cosmo | Jorge of Burgos | 8 |
| Michael Emerson | Abo of Fossanova - The Abbot | 8 |
| Tchéky Karyo | Pope John XXII | 8 |
| Rupert Everett | Bernardo Gui | 8 |
| Peter Davison | Old Adso / Narrator (voice) | 8 |
| Richard Sammel | Malachi of Hildesheim | 8 |
| Corrado Invernizzi | Michele of Cesena | 8 |
| Fabrizio Bentivoglio | Remigio of Varagine | 8 |
| Fausto Maria Sciarappa | Nicola of Morimondo | 8 |
| David Brandon | Hugh of Newcastle | 8 |
| Stefano Fresi | Salvatore of Montferrat | 8 |
| Greta Scarano | Anna / Margherita | 8 |
| Claudio Bigagli | Gerolamo of Caffa | 8 |
| Roberto Herlitzka | Alinardo of Grottaferrata | 8 |
| Benjamin Stender | Benno of Uppsala | 8 |
| Sebastian Koch | Baron of Neuenberg | 2 |
| Diego Delpiano | Martino | 1 |