Giangio

**Giangio**, real name **Philippus Paracelsus**, is a character in *Lies of P*. He is a merchant who sells Star Fragments and Wishstones in exchange for Gold Coin Fruit.

## Background

Philippus Paracelsus was a long-time member of the Alchemists, rising through the ranks to eventually become a legend to his fellow members. His devotion to the Uroboros Mark was so great that he crafted a weapon to honor it called Uroboro's Eye. At some point, however, he left the Alchemists and joined an organization focused on paths to obtaining eternal life. One of his assignments involved capturing a girl named Dorothy as she was believed to be the "key" the organization was looking for. However, Philippus was unable to apprehend her.

Later, Philippus was tasking with giving Simon Manus the Arm of God as part of the "Krat Experiment", intending for it to be used create a new immortal being. This caused Krat to devolve into chaos as the Alchemist used the Arm to conduct experiments on people with the intention of “evolving” humanity, resulting in the Petrification Disease . As the cases of the disease increased across the city, Geppetto stole the Arm in hopes of stopping Simon and the Alchemists and using it to revive his dead son Carlo. He then started the Puppet Frenzy to keep Simon and the Alchemists at bay.

Seeking to observe the city closer, Philippus posed as a shy pharmacist named Giangio. After meeting Gepetto's puppet Pinocchio, the man now known as Giangio offered to sell him Wishstones in exchange for Gold Coin Fruit. He later managed to find the Gold Coin Tree at Hotel Krat but was unable to pick it himself. Giangio later helped P produce a "cure" for the Petrification Disease to use on Antonia Cerasani. However, he told P that administering the cure would not fix the damage to her body caused by the disease which would likely result in Antonia’s death.

Following Simon's transformation and defeat at the hands of P, Giangio felt that the experiment was over. He departed the city and abandoned his alias. He left a letter for Pinocchio or Carlo at the hotel congratulating them on their achievement of eternal life and stating that he hopes to meet them again in the future. While on a train to his next destination, Philippus called his superior and gave his report of the experiment. He then told her that they would have to recover the Arm at some point and that he would resume his search for Dorothy.

## Location

Giangio is first located in the Path of Misery. He is found in front of a headless statue of an angel at the end of a path that is to the right of the bridge that leads to the St. Frangelico Cathedral. After speaking to him, he will move to the Cathedral's chapel at the entrance near the Stargazer. After defeating the Eldest of The Black Rabbit Brotherhood, he moves to the building next to the Gold Coin Tree in Hotel Krat. If the player chooses to not start New Game Plus after reaching one of the three endings, he will disappear and leave The Letter of the Eternal note and a dispenser in his place. Players can interact with the dispenser to continue to purchase Wishstones and Star Fragments with Gold Coin Fruit.

## Trivia

* In the original book, Giangio (or Farmer John in other adaptations) hires Pinocchio to work for him so he could take care of Geppetto after saving him from the Terrible Dogfish, he is also responsible for buying Candlewick when he turned into a donkey, which resulted him to being worked to death.
* Giangio states he is suffering from the Petrification Disease but shows no visible symptoms, this is possibly a lie to test Pinocchio's skills.
	+ He also claims the disease prevents him from picking from the Gold Coin Tree as it burns his hands with any attempt, however the tree itself may actually be enchanted to avoid being picked by greedy hands.
* His real name is based on Paracelsus, who was a Swiss physician, alchemist, lay theologian, and philosopher of the German Renaissance.
* There's a recurring character in the Oz stories who shares the name Paracelsus: a boy from Philadelphia named Saladin Paracelsus de Lambertine Evagne von Smith and nicknamed "Button-Bright" for his precocious intelligence came into possession of a special umbrella with the ability to fly its holder anywhere. Not only is Giangio refer to himself as Paracelsus, but is in possession of a black umbrella, potentially making a connection to The Wizard of Oz.