Luciano Crinamorte

Lucien Mulholland

Appearances

City of Masks, City of Stars, City of Flowers, City of Secrets, City of Ships, City of Swords

Alias

Lucien Mulholland
Luciano Davide Crinamorte

Occupation

Cavaliere of Bellezza,
Student of Padavia University,
Stravagante,
Duke Consort of Bellezza

Age

just under 18

Current Residence

Bellezza and Padavia

Elected

N/A

Relatives

Vicky Mulholland, mother
David Mulholland, father
Leonora Crinamorte, adopted mother
Gugliemo Crinamorte, adopted father
Arianna Rossi, Wife

Talisman

marbled notebook
white rose preserved in resin

English/Talian City

Bellezza, London

Lucien Mulholland, later Luciano Crinamorte, is the protagonist of City of Masks and a significant supporting character in the Stravaganza series. He is fifteen years old at the beginning of City of Masks, when the series begins, and has appeared in every subsequent book.

Born in Islington, London, he stravagates originally from London, England to Bellezza until his death in England. After he is "translated" to Talia permanently, he stravagates from Bellezza to London.

Biography

Lucien's marbled notebook

When Lucien is diagnosed with a brain tumour in England, his father gives him a marbled notebook for Lucien to write his thoughts, since Lucien's chemotherapy treatments have left his throat too sore to speak with. He discovers the notebook's power as a talisman and is transported to Bellezza when he falls asleep while holding onto the notebook. Bewildered by his circumstances, Lucien meets Arianna Gasparini, a Bellezzan girl his age, on a day that forbids anyone who was not born in Bellezza to be in the city under the threat of death. Lucien discovers that he is unaffected by his disease in Talia.

Lucien's translation

After several chemo treatments, Lucien's condition appears to improve, so his parents decide to take him on a trip to Venice, which Lucien had expressed an interest in after beginning his stravagations to Bellezza. However, Lucien's tumour reappears again shortly after the Duchessa of Bellezza is apparently assassinated. Lucien is kidnapped in Bellezza by a di Chimici spy, leaving his body in England apparently lifeless and in a coma. Because the doctors cannot find any brain activity, they are convinced he will never wake again and his parents agree to take Lucien off life support. The moment Lucien dies, he gains a shadow in Talia.

At Lucien's funeral, attended his family and friends, Rodolfo Rossi stravagates to London and leaves Lucien's parents with cryptic words saying that Lucien is alive in another world, which comforts Vicky Mulholland. After his death, Lucien takes on the name Luciano, the Talian version of Lucien. He is adopted by Dr. Dethridge and his wife Leonora, Arianna's aunt.

Living in Talia

Luciano's new talisman

As Luciano adjusts to living as a Talian, he visits Remora with Dr. Dethridge, where Luciano is reunited with Georgia O'Grady, one of his mother's violin students. Unhappy with the possibility that Arianna may marry Gaetano di Chimici despite becoming friends with Gaetano, Luciano agrees to help Georgia in a plan to help Falco di Chimici permanently translate to 21st century England. Luciano becomes closer to Georgia, apparently unaware of her feelings for him, though his own feelings are for Arianna. After the events of the Stellata, he returns to Bellezza. After his time in Remora, Luciano comes to enjoy riding horses, which he does whenever he is not in Bellezza. In Padavia, he has a horse named Cara.

For saving the previous Duchessa from her first assassination attempt, Luciano is made Cavaliere of Bellezza in City of Flowers and his apprenticeship with Rodolfo ends. He and Rodolfo arrive in Giglia as part of a diplomatic visit before Arianna goes to the city as an honoured guest at the di Chimici weddings and meets Sky Meadows, the new Stravagante to Giglia. However, Luciano is outraged when he learns that the head of the di Chimici, the Grand Duke Niccolo, intends to marry Arianna to ensure Bellezza will join the di Chimici city-states. In spite of the danger, Luciano recklessly accepts the Grand Duke's challenge to a duel towards the end of the novel. The Grand Duke dies in the duel as a result of being stabbed by a foil he ironically intended to use on Luciano, unaware that his spymaster, Enrico Poggi had switched the swords to avenge his fiancée. Niccolo's heir, Fabrizio, immediately orders Luciano's arrest, forcing Luciano to flee the city inside a crate containing a statue of Arianna made by Giuditta Miele. Reunited with Arianna in Bellezza, he proposes marriage to her and she accepts.

Portrait of Luciano

During his engagement to Arianna, Luciano attends the University in Padavia, to become a proper nobleman and resides in the house formerly occupied by the Widow Bellini. In Padavia, Luciano becomes a mentor to Matt Wood and is reunited with his friend Cesare Montalbani from Remora. He is nearly killed in the Anatomy Theatre in a plot by the di Chimici and helps save the city from burning to the ground as a result of Messer Antonio's misguided attempt to enact anti-occult laws encouraged by the di Chimici. In City of Ships, Luciano continues to study in Padavia, but becomes distracted by the prominent threat presented by the Gate People and their alliance with the di Chimici. He joins the Bellezzan fleet during the naval battle against the Gate People, helping to spread the information that Isabel Evans manages to obtain on how to dowse the liquid fire employed by the Gate People.