Character Analysis
This one of Fenoglio's grandkids is probably the most mischievous—among other antics, he steals the chocolate chips out of a cake as Meggie and Mo are arriving to talk to Fenoglio. He seems to be close to his grandpa, to the point where Pippo sounds disappointed about Fenoglio wanting to listen to Mo's story instead of following through with the punishment for de-chipping the cake: "Pippo stuck his lower lip out sulkily and disappeared into the corridor" (24.48). A kid must be really fond of their grandparent to be disappointed by the delay of their punishment.
Problem is, Pippo's a talkative little chap, so when Basta and Cockerell come to the town where he lives, they easily intimidate a bunch of information out of him. As Basta says to Meggie: "That boy […] has told us some strange stories about a grandfather who writes books and a book in which your father took a particular interest" (30.45). Oops. The poor kid is so scared that when he gets back to Fenoglio's place he hides (30.70), though, which reminds us that though he's screwed up, he's still just a kid.