Filippo di Chimici

Filippo di Chimici

Appearances

City of Secrets, City of Ships, City of Swords

Alias

Lippo

Occupation

Heir to the Prince of Bellona

Year of Birth

1556

Place of Birth

Bellona

Age

24

Relatives

Jacopo the Younger, father
Clarice di Chimici, mother
Francesca di Chimici, sister

Filippo di Chimici is the son of Jacopo the Younger and Clarice di Chimici. He is 24 years old as of City of Ships and the future prince of Bellona. As his father is the current Prince of Bellona, Filippo has little to do in terms of political affairs. He is the older brother of Francesca of Bellona, the wife of Gaetano di Chimici.

As a child, Filippo had been close friends with his cousins Fabrizio and Carlo, because they were so close in age. Though he is not a bad person, the majority of his family, including his sister Francesca, and his cousins Beatrice, Falco, and Alfonso, as well as his uncle the Pope, all regard him as a weak-minded person who is easily swayed in action by others. He has little skill with subterfuge, preferring brute force as he thinks he is manlier, and also appears to be somewhat vain, knowing himself to be an attractive man to reassure himself that he will marry someday after he is rejected by Beatrice.

Overview

Filippo's first notable appearance occurs in City of Secrets, when he aids his cousin Rinaldo to expose the Stravaganti in Padavia at the request of his cousin Fabrizio, the Grand Duke of Tuschia. In the process, he attempts to garner the trust of Luciano Crinamorte and appears to succeed, later taking advantage of Luciano's trust in order to help Fabrizio exact revenge on the young Bellezzan cavaliere for causing the death of Fabrizio's father. When Filippo and Rinaldo acquire the talisman of Matteo Bosco, Filippo is accidentally transported to London on Halloween when he is knocked out while holding the talisman. Bewildered with the unknown world, he believes England is a demonic place. Any further efforts by Filippo and Rinaldo to discover the secrets of the Stravaganti or to destroy Luciano fail and they attempt to hide their failures from Fabrizio.

Filippo subsequently appears in City of Ships as a suitor for Fabrizio's unmarried sister, Beatrice. Though he does not feel any particular attraction to Beatrice, he welcomes the idea of marrying her and arrives in Giglia to stay with Francesca and Gaetano. Beatrice flees from her arranged marriage to find refuge with Gaetano's friend, the Duchessa of Bellezza, causing embarrassment for Filippo and Fabrizio. Filippo's pride is restored somewhat after Francesca and Gaetano listen to his complaints about why he didn't want to marry Beatrice and Fabrizio promises to find him a more willing and promising bride. He returns to Bellona afterward.

Filippo returns in City of Swords, firstly to support his cousin Lucia of Fortezza following the death of her father, Jacopo the Elder. When Lucia's claim to Fortezza's throne is challenged by Ludo Vivoide, Fabrizio presses on Filippo to propose to Lucia to remove the doubt of citizens who do not believe that a woman can rule alone and so the city remains under control of a legitimate di Chimici family member. During the siege of the city, Filippo's father, Jacopo the Younger, sends his son to lead the forces of Bellona. Though the di Chimici succeed in returning control of the city to Lucia, she rejects Fabrizio's attempt to marry her off to Filippo and elects to marry the Bellezzan nobleman Guido Parola instead.