Beelphegor, Mickey Rooney the archdevil who Ades dispatches to Earth, arrives amid the uneasy truce between Rome and Florence. The holy cease-fire has the odd blessing of reducing the number of souls Ades can claim, but it also tempts a malevolent curiosity in the demon: how does mortal life truly feel when experienced in a body? Beelphegor is aided by the invisible lower demon Adrammelech, and together they set out to undo the fragile peace by reigniting old tensions between the Pope and the Signoria.
Once on Italian soil, Beelphegor slips into human form and begins testing the limits of his new life. Even while in human flesh, he wields a pocketful of supernatural tricks: he can bend luck at gambling, hypnotize with a glance, and seduce with ease. He also carries the scale of his powers—great strength, pyrokinesis, and a stubborn resistance to fire—though all of this remains partially veiled by his attempt to blend in with ordinary travelers and merchants. The archdevil’s first foray into mortal pleasures gradually becomes a study in what flesh and desire can teach a being who has spent centuries tempting humanity from afar.
Beelphegor’s path crosses with Francesco Cibo, the ambitious young noble who has just returned from France to seal a political alliance with Maddalena De Medici. Francesco, Luigi Vannucchi in this tale, is drawn into the Florentine court’s orbit as he secures Maddalena’s hand for the sake of a united front against Rome. Maddalena, portrayed by Claudine Auger, is a woman of independent spirit who refuses to be mere political leverage in her father Lorenzo de’ Medici’s plans. Lorenzo, the wise ruler of Florence, is played by Gabriele Ferzetti, a man who weighs the costs of peace against the temptations of power and the danger of a fragile alliance that could be shattered by deceit.
Beelphegor, disguising himself as a refined guest in Lorenzo’s court, quickly disarms the expectations of the Medici inner circle. Two key figures stand out: Maddalena, whose will and courage command attention even as she navigates a marriage proposed for political reasons, and Gianfigliazzo, the Capitan of Lorenzo’s guard, who bears a personal vendetta and an unspoken love for Maddalena. Gianfigliazzo, Ettore Manni, watches Beelphegor with growing suspicion as the archdevil’s charm threatens to destabilize Lorenzo’s carefully crafted diplomacy.
As the wedding ceremony unfolds, Beelphegor deliberately refrains from naming Maddalena as his bride, a calculated ruse designed to provoke Florence into resuming war with Rome. The public insult serves Beelphegor’s real objective: to force the Gallic-like stalemate into a new, open conflict. The Florentine side initially convulses with anger, and Gianfigliazzo leads the charge to seize the incognito intruder, but Beelphegor slips away, aided by Adrammelech’s unseen assistance and the ingenuity of Leonardo da Vinci’s machines, which provide a new kind of warfare that the Florentines had not anticipated.
Lorenzo, ever the strategist, recognizes the danger of renewed war and the ruin it would bring to both city-states. He counsels restraint, trying to keep the peace from unraveling under the pressure of Ades’ cunning. Yet Adrammelech’s and Beelphegor’s tricks push the council toward a dangerous brink, and peace hangs in a delicate balance. Beelphegor’s mission, it seems, is succeeding—until a surprising turn begins to reshape the stakes: the archdevil grows attracted to Maddalena, drawn not only to her mind and resolve but to a rising awareness that love and mortal longing might defy his nature.
With Beelphegor’s time on Earth growing short, he resolves to turn a mortal page in his own diary: Maddalena. He returns to Lorenzo’s palace, and in a night of calculated seduction, he believes he has broken the last barrier. Maddalena, however, has already anticipated the trap. She uses her wit to misdirect him, and when a cunning plan leads to accident and exposure, Beelphegor is publicly humiliated in a spectacular display of flames and passion. He escapes once more, slipping through a hidden corridor and vanishing into the night as the crowd roars with a mixture of scorn and wonder.
In his final hours, Beelphegor meets a different kind of challenge at the edge of a countryside crossroads where a portal back to hell awaits. He is engaged by a warrior whose armor hides his face, and the two clash in a fierce duel. Beelphegor triumphs only to discover that the mysterious opponent is actually Maddalena in disguise, having stolen armor and weaponry to exact her own revenge for the night of humiliation. What begins as battle quickly turns into a shared recognition of bravery and mutual respect, and a surprising bond forms between them. Love begins to temper Beelphegor’s darker impulses, and the demon, moved by Maddalena’s strength, chooses not to return to hell with Ades’ mission fulfilled.
Their happiness, however, meets a violent interruption as Gianfigliazzo and his men close in, and the forces of judgment converge once more. Beelphegor is captured and prepared for a ceremonial execution by fire in Florence, but fate intervenes when Adrammelech reappears, revealing that Ades is furious at the delay and the sight of true affection between a mortal woman and a demon. The punishment is harsh: Beelphegor is stripped of his infernal powers, transformed into a full mortal who can suffer pain and fear as any human would. Maddalena, moved by compassion and loyalty, chooses to join him in the flames rather than let him die alone. Lorenzo, seeing the extraordinary bond, forgives Beelphegor and seeks to spare both lovers, while Gianfigliazzo’s stubborn pride delays the final mercy.
In a pivotal turn, Maddalena’s defiance and Beelphegor’s renewed humanity compel Lorenzo to grant clemency. Gianfigliazzo, driven by jealousy, attempts a fresh attack, but Adrammelech returns to assist his former master in a last decisive way. Gianfigliazzo meets his end in the fire, and Beelphegor and Maddalena escape into a future where love and mortality stand side by side. The two lovers begin a new life together as ordinary people, free from the binds of demonhood and political intrigue, while Ades and Adrammelech withdraw, their schemes exhausted but their bond—of sorts—remaining as a reminder of the cost of peace and the price of passion.
In the end, the story leans into a quiet, hard-won serenity: a mortal life can offer sweetness and pain in equal measure, and power—whether divine or demonic—must yield to trust, sacrifice, and the courage to choose love over conquest. The old orders may bend, but the human heart proves bold enough to steer a new course, even when the path is paved with danger, doubt, and fire.
