- For the Lords of Shadow mentioned character, see Rinaldo Gandolfi (Lords of Shadow).


- "It was five years ago... A cold night with a full moon. I returned home from picking herbs necessary for the secret arts and what greeted me was a sea of steaming blood. And at the center of it were the bodies of my wife and son... I could not believe my eyes... My daughter was there, laughing, blood dripping from her mouth..."
- — Rinaldo to Leon, talking about his daughter
Rinaldo Gandolfi (リナルド・ガンドルフィー Rinarudo Gandorufi?) is a support character introduced in Castlevania: Lament of Innocence. He is an alchemist whose daughter was taken and vampirized by Walter Bernhard. He created the Whip of Alchemy in order to slay his daughter and later attempted to slay Walter, but failed. He now lives in a small hut in the Forest of Eternal Night to help whoever tries to slay Walter and ends up giving his whip to Leon Belmont, but the whip is later fused with soul of Leon's fiancée, Sara Trantoul, to create the Vampire Killer, the famous whip of the Belmont Clan.
History[]


- "An alchemist who lives in the forest ruled by the vampire. Leon obtains his first whip from this man. He also helps Leon by selling potions and other items. Rinaldo appears to have a score to settle with the vampire."
- — Official description
Five years prior to the events of Lament of Innocence, Rinaldo lost his wife and son by the hands of his daughter, Justine, who had been vampirized. In response, Rinaldo created the Whip of Alchemy and destroyed her with it. Rinaldo then challenged Walter, but the whip had no effect on him and nothing became of the battle. Amused, Walter permitted Rinaldo to live and set up shop in the forest, where he would help others who had grudges against Walter. Walter thought that it made the "game" more fun. Rinaldo held out hope that where he had failed, another would succeed. At some point, he also fought against a Succubus who acted as a follower of Walter, although he ultimately let her live (she implies later on that the reason he did so was because she transformed into his daughter Justine and caused him to lower his guard).
After Leon's defeat of Walter, Rinaldo's whereabouts are unknown.
Rinaldo's shop[]
- See also: Shop
The following items are available for purchase at Rinaldo's shop:
Item Data: Items | ||||||||
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Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
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Medicine that recovers 50 HP. | HP +50 Sell: $100 |
Buy: $200 Find: Throughout castle (all) Drop: Skeleton, Skeleton Archer, Skeleton Hunter, Skeleton Knight, Astral Knight, Astral Warrior, Astral Fighter, Skeleton Soldier, Skeleton Swordsman, Skeleton Warrior |
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Medicine that recovers 100 HP. A bit hard to swallow. | HP +100 Sell: $400 |
Buy: $800 Find: Throughout castle (all) Drop: Spartacus, Phantom |
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Medicine that cures poison. | Sell: $50 |
Buy: $100 Find: Castle Entrance, House of Sacred Remains, Rinaldo's shop Drop: Poison Lizard, Poison Zombie, Skeleton Flower |
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Medicine that purges curses. | Sell: $50 |
Buy: $100 Find: Castle Entrance, House of Sacred Remains, Rinaldo's shop Drop: Executioner |
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If you use it, you will be taken to the front of Rinaldo's house. | Sell: $100 |
Buy: $200 Find: Castle Entrance, Rinaldo's shop Drop: Dullahan |
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If you use it, you will be able to return to the last save point you accessed. | Sell: $400 |
Buy: $800 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Gaap |
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A very beautiful, valuable jewel. April birthstone. | Sell: $5,000 |
Buy: $10,000 Find: Rinaldo's shop |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, fully restores all of Leon's HP and MP. | |||||
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A beautiful jewel the color of a rainbow. | Sell: $500 |
Buy: $1,000 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Axe Knight |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, blows an enemy away but deals out small damage. | |||||
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A sparkling, red-colored jewel. | Sell: $1,500 |
Buy: $3,000 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Armor Knight |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, causes damage to all enemies on the screen. | |||||
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A sparkling, blue-colored jewel. | Sell: $1,000 |
Buy: $2,000 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Heavy Armor |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, steals enemies' HP. | |||||
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A stone said to protect travelers. | Sell: $400 |
Buy: $800 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Cyclops |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, switches the sub-weapon equipped. | |||||
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An imitation diamond. | Sell: $200 |
Buy: $400 Find: Rinaldo's shop Drop: Axe Armor |
Effect: With the Jewel Crush, grants a random amount of gold. |
Item Data: Relics | ||||||||
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Image | Name - Game Type - Users Description |
Attributes / Consume | Statistics / Sell | Found | Notes | |||
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A chess piece carved in detail out of ivory. It will increase your defense temporarily. | DEF +30 |
Buy: $3,000 Find: Rinaldo's Shop |
Other appearances[]
Vampire Survivors[]

Rinaldo appears as a hidden character in the Ode To Castlevania DLC.
He is unlocked by obtaining the Black Disk Relic and by evolving the Star Flail, which is the starting weapon of Sara, alluding to her sacrifice to turn the Alchemy Whip into the Vampire Killer, which was Rinaldo's creation.
His starting weapon is the Keremet Bubbles.
Gallery[]
- For additional artworks, please visit Rinaldo Gandolfi Artwork.
Trivia[]
- His name implies he is of Italian heritage.
- Chronologically, Rinaldo is the first merchant to appear in the Castlevania series; Hammer and Yoko Belnades from Dawn of Sorrow are the last.
- Yoko appeared in Aria of Sorrow, but she was not a merchant in that game, Hammer was the one that filled that role, while both of them open shop in Dawn of Sorrow.
- Rinaldo shares his last name with Barbara Gandolfi, one of the partners of Jean-Paul Belmondo, the man whose name inspired that of the Belmonts, whose Leon Belmont is the first representative. However, this is only a coincidence, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Barbara Gandolfi started living together in 2008, while Castlevania: Lament of Innocence was released in 2003.
- Giovanni, a mentioned character in the 2007 cell phone game Castlevania: Order of Shadows, is stated to be a descendant of Rinaldo, and even gives to the heroes what is believed to be the Magic Gauntlet Leon used. However, Order of Shadows is considered to be a side story to the official canon, and therefore, is not part of the series' official chronology.
See also[]
External links[]
- Rinaldo Gandolfi at the Castlevania Fan Wiki
- Rinaldo Gandolfi at the Castlevania Fanon Wiki
- Rinaldo Gandolfi at the Vampire Survivors Wiki
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence |
---|
Characters |
Protagonist |
Leon Belmont |
Supporting cast |
Sara Trantoul · Rinaldo Gandolfi · Mathias Cronqvist |
Antagonists |
Joachim Armster · Walter Bernhard · Death |
Lesser roles |
Elisabetha Cronqvist · Justine Gandolfi · Pumpkin |
Bosses |
Main bosses |
Undead Parasite · Golem · Succubus · Medusa · Joachim · Walter · Death |
Minor/optional bosses |
Flame Elemental · Frost Elemental · Thunder Elemental · Doppelganger · Forgotten One |
Areas |
Forest of Eternal Night · Castle Entrance · House of Sacred Remains Anti-Soul Mysteries Lab · Ghostly Theatre · Dark Palace of Waterfalls Garden Forgotten by Time · Pagoda of the Misty Moon · Prison of Eternal Torture |
Music |
Castlevania: Lament of Innocence Original Soundtrack |
Guides |
Futabasha Guide · NTT Pub Guide · Shinkigensha Guide · BradyGames Guide |
Archives |
Bestiary · Inventory · Joachim Mode · Pumpkin Mode · Mobile Manga |