# Dolfo Spini — Romola character guide

> Dolfo Spini in Romola by George Eliot.

**Role:** supporting

**Also known as:** Messer Dolfo Spini, Messer Dolfo, Spini, the thickheaded Dolfo Spini, Dolfo

**First appearance:** 0038-xxxv-what-florence-was-thinking-of

## Snapshot

A thick-headed, hot-blooded captain of the Compagnacci, all swagger and appetite, whose enmity to Savonarola makes him a useful blade for cleverer men.

## Who they are

Dolfo Spini leads the Compagnacci, the young aristocratic rowdies who drink, brawl, and plot against the Frate's moral regime. He is brave in the way of a man who has never had to think, and his vanity and violence make him easy for subtler schemers to point at a target. As the city's factions harden, Spini embodies the brute force waiting beneath Florence's pious surface — a threat Romola and Tito both learn to reckon with.

## Relationships

### [Tito Melema](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/characters/tito_melema)

_rivalry_

Spini is a political adversary of Tito, engaging in power struggles and mutual suspicion.

### [Tito Melema](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/characters/tito_melema)

_rivalry_

Spini is a political adversary of Tito, engaging in power struggles and mutual suspicion.

### [Tito Melema](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/characters/tito_melema)

_rivalry_

Spini is a political adversary of Tito, engaging in power struggles and mutual suspicion.

## In the story

### [XXV: Outside the Duomo](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/xxv-outside-the-duomo)

Representative of the licentious young men who attend out of hatred and a desire to find grounds for accusation.

### [XLVI: By a Street Lamp](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/xlvi-by-a-street-lamp)

Mentioned as the leader of the group Tito avoids and as the mastermind of the plot against Savonarola.

### [XLVII: Check](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/xlvii-check)

His plot against Savonarola fails due to Romola's presence. Tito fears his suspicion and the potential consequences of his disappointment.

### [XLVIII: Countercheck](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/xlviii-countercheck)

Mentioned as having had a troublesome interview with Tito after the failed ambush, indicating ongoing political intrigue.

### [LXIII: Ripening Schemes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/lxiii-ripening-schemes)

Spini is the captain of the Compagnacci, who is being used by Tito as a tool. He is preparing for a supper where he will expound the new scheme to his followers.

### [LXV: The Trial by Fire](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/lxv-the-trial-by-fire)

Spini leads the Compagnacci, a group of armed men stationed on the opposite side of the Piazza. He is described as thickheaded, and Tito claims credit for bringing about the trial through him.

### [A Masque of the Furies](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/lxvi-a-masque-of-the-furies)

Directs the riot from a private retreat, furious at Tito's double-dealing and plotting revenge.

### [The Confession](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/lxxi-the-confession)

Mentioned as one of Savonarola's bitterest enemies, involved in the rigged examination process.

### [LXXII: The Last Silence](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/chapters/lxxii-the-last-silence)

Spini is present as one of the Eight, part of the tribunal that pronounces the sentence of death.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/characters/dolfo_spini
- Book: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se
- All characters: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/romola_se/characters