The Baron in the Trees

Cosimo and Biagio’s older sister. At the beginning of the novel, she’s the house nun and takes on much of the cooking. She became a nun after an incident with the Marquis della Mela, in which he supposedly raped her, but evidence instead points to the possibility that she was the aggressor. Though Biagio insists that Battista has all the qualities of a good cook, such as passion and creativity, she also has a sadistic streak that means her dishes are often an ordeal for those eating them. She enjoys creating dishes that may or may not taste good, but are sure to shock the family at dinner, such as pâté made with mouse liver, porcupine, and a snail dish in which the snails are arranged to look like swans. In general, Battista likes to keep the family on its toes by doing strange and unexpected things, such as hunting mice at night with a pistol and chewing her fingernails in a way guaranteed to attract attention. Her snails are the reason why Cosimo goes into the trees. Not long after Cosimo goes into the trees, Battista marries the young Count d’Estomac and, for the most part, exits the story. She briefly returns with her husband to live with Biagio during the French Revolution, bringing with her a model guillotine so she can regale people with tales of the executions in Paris.