The Answer: All of the original names created for the story are named after something or someone who was important in the life of the great Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer, Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni.
Leo: Pope Leo X who commissioned Michelangelo to rebuild the façade of the Basilica of San Lorenzo in Florence. Leo was the same age as Michelangelo and was the second son of Lorenzo de' Medici, ruler of the Republic of Florence. Michelangelo lived with Lorenzo and his family for several years, dining at the family table and attending meetings of the Neo-Platonic Academy.
Francesca: Francesca di Neri del Miniato di Siena, Michelangelo's mother.
Vittoria Colonna: Vittoria Colonna, Italian noblewoman and poet with whom Michelangelo had a "special" relationship. He was devastated by her death in 1547.
Julius: Pope Julius II who commissioned Michelangelo to build his tomb. Michelangelo's famous statue of Moses was carved for this project. Julius also commissioned Michelangelo to repaint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Peter: St. Peter's Basilica, for which Michelangelo helped design its famous dome, which was completed after his death.
Domenico: Domenico Ghirlandaio, Italian Renaissance painter from Florence, whom Michelangelo was apprenticed to at age 13.
Tommaso: Tommaso dei Cavalieri, Italian nobleman with whom Michelangelo had a "special" relationship. Tommaso was the inspiration for the portrait of Christ in Michelangelo's fresco The Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel. Michelangelo also painted his own self-portrait as St. Bartholomew sitting at Christ's feet. At the time they met, Michelangelo was 57 and Tommaso 23, making them very similar to another May/December couple we're all quite fond of. Michelangelo and Tommaso were together for 32 years proving that some May/December relationships are long-standing.