Leonardo Lanci

This is Leonardo - A Videographer with a Secret

Leonardo’s distinctive style is often slightly flippant, relishing clever phrases. He had a privileged upbringing and training, merging a professional warm engagement with an operative’s analytical precision, all interspersed with dry humor and clever quotations. Watch out for the chapter when he says to his police assistant as they are about to confront a criminal, “I’ll take the charm, you take the arrest warrants.”​

Leonardo Lanci is a sophisticated 40-year-old Italian intelligence operative masquerading as a high-end wedding videographer in the picturesque region of Umbria. Based at his villa in Panicale, he masterfully balances his covert work for AISI (Italy's internal security agency) with a thriving videography business alongside his partner, Gina La Russa.

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Born into a family with deep ties to British intelligence, Leonardo followed his father's and grandfather's footsteps into the world of espionage. His grandfather's heroic actions during Operation Slapstick in 1943 laid the foundation for the family's legacy of service. After earning his Master's degree in International Relations from Oxford, Leonardo was recruited by MI5, working in conjunction with Italian intelligence.

Distinguished by his tall, athletic build and dark brown hair touched with silver at the temples, Leonardo cuts an impressive figure at 6'2". His deep brown eyes miss nothing, a skill honed through years of surveillance work. A small scar above his right eyebrow hints at adventures untold.

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Leonardo's pride and joy is his blood-red 1975 Maserati Indy, that his father bought on the day Leonardo  was born. This cherished vehicle symbolizes both his privileged background and his appreciation for Italian craftsmanship.

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Despite his outward success, Leonardo grapples with inner conflicts. He's torn between his promise to avenge his grandfather's murder in Milan and his growing feelings for Gina, who harbors secrets of her own. His quest for justice becomes entangled with a dangerous plot involving merging mafia families and Russian interests.

Accompanied by his faithful corgi Matteo, Leonardo navigates the treacherous waters between his public and private lives, all while maintaining the polished façade of a successful videographer in Tuscany's elite social circles.
He has several objectives to fulfill: whether he will continue as an undercover operative, recover his kidnapped assistant, stop the merger of the mafia families, and most importantly, meet his mother’s deathbed request about the massacre of her extended family,