By Bob Krauss
Advertiser Columnist

You should know that a royal love story goes with the exhibit of Filippo Marignoli's paintings now showing at the Honolulu Academy of Arts. This love story includes Marco Polo and the king of Kaua'i. Here's how it goes:

The love of Marignoli's life (he died in 1995) was Kapiolani Kawananakoa of Hawai'i. She is descended from High Chief Kaumuali'i of Kaua'i, who was taken as a husband by Queen Ka'ahumanu after Kamehameha died. That's on the Hawaiian side.

Here's the Italian side. Marignoli was a marquess.

In the 13th century his ancestor, Giovanni de Marignole, led an expedition sent by the pope to China. Giovanni stayed 10 years and converted the empress to Catholicism. The expedition was inspired by Marco Polo's adventures.

Now let's get to the love story. Filippo fell in love with Kapiolani on sight although it was a blind date he'd hoped to avoid. This happened about 1953 in Florence, where Kapiolani's parents had rented a villa while on a world tour.

At the time, Kapiolani was studying literature at the Sorbonne in Paris. She interrupted her studies to join her parents, Harry Fields and his wife, the senior Kapiolani Kawananakoa.

The daughter Kapiolani got invited to a banquet for an American admiral but her date fizzled out. An Italian girlfriend felt sorry for her. That friend happened to be a cousin of the dashing young artist Filippo Marignoli. She twisted his arm to fill in for the date.

When he went to pick up Kapiolani, he immediately fell for her. The next day he called his mother and said he was going to marry her.

So, you see, this exhibit has a lot going for it. The paintings are classy, abstracts all about oceans and islands. The paintings dramatize how tiny islands are in relation to the ocean in all directions — up, down and sideways.

Marignoli didn't paint like this until he married Kapiolani and brought her to Maui in 1959. Their romance was probably partly responsible for his artistic evolution.

Anyway, from Maui, Filippo hauled his high-born Hawaiian wife to New York and Paris and back to Italy and Hawai'i. His son, Duccio, who is here for the exhibit, said Filippo couldn't stay in one place very long. As a result, Duccio spent the fourth grade barefoot at Punahou School and was in the Lei Day pageant.

Duccio collects and deals in old masters. For the record, he's 41, about 6 feet tall, good-looking, friendly, doesn't put on royal airs and is at the moment by far the most eligible bachelor in Our Honolulu.

He said his mother, Kapiolani, spends about two-thirds of her time in Hawai'i. She keeps a house for her children in Kailua. He said he likes Hawai'i and Italy equally, as both are fundamental to his well-being.

Reach Bob Krauss at 525-0873.