Passione

> I simply did what the ancient Romans had done centuries ago: built a terrifying empire from blood and fire- and left no clues to how it was done so well.
>
> Father Diavolo, proudly talking to himself about his success creating the syndicate to where it is now.

Passione is an Italian criminal organization known for its near-monopoly on overseeing hotels, port construction sites, restaurants, as well as its main business in gambling and drugs. It is based in Naples, Italy, but is known to have various locations of control throughout the country and parts of Europe. Founded by Father Diavolo, its leadership eventually fell onto Giorno Giovanna in both Fate of Zephyr and Vento Aureo.

It is remarkable by the secretiveness of its members and the unusually high number of Stand Users among them.

* Description
* Members
* Policies
* History
* Trivia
 Passione is one of the most powerful gangs in Italy despite its low membership compared to others. It has 757 known members, including Giorno Giovanna, at the beginning of both Fate of Zephyr and Vento Aureo.

The gang is based in Naples, but operations go as far as Greece, England, and Morocco. There is speculation that the syndicate plans on expanding but nothing had been confirmed during Father Diavolo's tenure. While it is known for its involvement in contraband, fraud, organ, and the human trafficking trade, it is infamous for its strict criteria and nearly monopolizing grip on the drug trade. However, Passione also has a false reputation of being very anti-drug as a means to maintain the monopoly.

## Hierarchy

Passione runs similarly to any mafia syndicate, which strict hierarchy is maintained. Unlike many mafioso hierarchies, there is no connection to any role and promotion based on family-based nepotism- at least at a glance.
The syndicate is run by **The Boss**, then Father Diavolo, who is considered the first head to the rest of his subordinates. The only people after him in status and power are the **Consiglieri**. It is unknown who Father Diavolo's Consiglieri are, how many of them exist, and whether he had any, although many suggest that his elite Special Unit, or at least its supposed leader Solido Doppio, represent the group. Giorno publicly appointed Jean Pierre Polnareff and Zura Grattachecca (eventually also Clara E.) as his Consiglieri, making them his second and third in command respectively; Zura ended up being the leader of the Special Unit, similarly to how Solido Doppio was before.

There seems to be at least seven different regions that represent Passione's territories; at least four oversee Italy. Each region within Passione's control is overseen by the **Caporegimes**, or Capos, who receive their orders either directly from the boss or through his Consiglieri; the orders are mostly by the former via Passione's complex computer system. A Capo would often have one to many **Teams** under their leadership to preform specific or general tasks, depending on their purpose for overseeing a territory, ruling their respective regions based on their own leadership style. Some Teams will also have their own sub-teams or hierarchy, depending on how the capo oversees the region and level of power Passione has in that territory. Certain Teams oversee both trade and protection of their regions, reaping profits from the areas as a result, while others are merely given a lump salary for their work on specific tasks. These Teams are all categorized and labeled based on their tasks. These categories include the **Information Teams**, which has teams such as Info Team #12, **Gambling Teams**, **Real Estate Teams**, and so forth; the biggest group is the **Hitman Teams**. Members of these teams are generally known within and outside of Passione as **Mafiosos.** The lowest ranking or newcomers are typically labeled as **Soldiers** and those that have a higher ranking or more experiences are known as **Associates**. Teams themselves may have their own titles and statuses separate from Passione overall, differing from the general titles, or forgo titles and only refer everyone as Mafiosos. **Leaders** of their teams may also be called Capos or captains by their subordinates if it is within the team's own culture.

There specific teams and members in Passione that slightly differ from a typical syndicate and do not completely fit in the hierarchy. The Special Unit is a specific team that operates directly under the Boss's Orders and are considered to some as either his own Consiglieri or secret body guards; however, it is unknown what their officially known roles are within the syndicate during Father Diavolo's tenure and therefore they do not fit in the ranking listed. They became known as the Consiglieri when Giorno came to power. Passione's strangest member is Solido Doppio, who serves as the main cover for the Boss and works as his right hand, thus operating alone, and referred to as the real Consiglieri of Father Diavolo by some. Other teams, such as The Narcotics Team, are their own category, as the team is the only group able to create the addictive drugs Passione makes profits from with the use of only one Stand User, Massimo Volpe. Because of this, they also do not fit the hierarchy compared to the others. However, both teams are seen as at least higher in status than Hitman Teams.

Hitman Teams consist of the lowest-ranking mafiosos in the overall hierarchy, often tasks with dangerous missions and executions, and as a result are known for having the most overhead and casualties compared to other teams. Like all other teams, each team is labeled a specific number by random and the team as a whole is often referred to as such a number or a nickname that the team has chosen for themselves. Most teams in this category are paid low wages for their works and given no other benefits. However, proper politics and bribery can allow certain Hitman Teams to elevate in status or gain better favor within their peers or possibly promote themselves to a higher status. The most notable example of this is **Hitman Team #47**, which Olio Nero is able to ascend to the status of Capo by using Polpo's hidden 10 billion lira stash. Another Hitman Team known in Passione is **Hitman Team #99**, who eventually rebranded themselves as Team Bucciarati, and **Hitman Team #88**, who also refer to themselves as The Rise. The Rise became known for having the most favorable team within their territory due to their association with Ogio Engio.

Although not considered members of Passione or within the hierarchy, **Dead Callers** are suicide messengers sent to teams to assign missions or send messages from their superiors before they are killed off-either by someone or by themselves. These Dead Callers are often unwilling victims; most come from Passione's human trafficking system to be discarded or later used for organ harvesting, regular civilians who were blackmailed into becoming a Dead Caller or formerly held as ransom and no longer needed, or mafiosos in Passione who are to be punished by becoming a Dead Caller. Although uncommon, Dead Callers may also be willing to be one. The biggest example of such is Capo Pericolo, when he willingly killed himself to send The Hitman Team a message to go to Venezia for the final information needed to hand off Gigi Una. Once a Dead Caller relays the necessary message, they are either forced to commit suicide, are killed soon after by a mafioso (either the one receiving the message or one that was following behind to ensure the message was properly done), executed by Father Diavolo himself, or executed by their own team if the message was for them. An example of such is Stracciatello when his paralyzed body was sent to his team's base after being caught for treason with Sorbetto and had a note attached with orders for the team to kill him. It is unknown whether the method of suicide can be chosen. The following is a list of known teams and members.

 Passione, like other crime syndicates, have their own culture and policies both generally and within their separate groups.

## Views on Exclusivity

Like any gang, Passione violently protects itself against any enemy, sending members to punish anyone who harms one of their own. It also entertains certain secretiveness as its members actively try to hide from the public. This is a reflection of Father Diavolo's own policies, as he refuses to personally meet anyone and giving orders through proxies while also spending much of his time trying to erase all traces of himself in addition to running his syndicate. Moreover, any member who tries to uncover his identity is immediately branded a traitor and made an example of.

Anyone caught betraying the Boss is condemned to death without trial to remind everyone of the risks of rebellion. The team they are associated with will be punished as well as humiliated in some way- oftentimes by cutting their pay or performing more dangerous and degrading missions- regardless of whether the whole team was actually involved or aware of such treason. However, teams or their members can refute as a means to gain leniency or receive an official statement from Father Diavolo that their "sins are absolved" by him. By being absolved or given more lenient punishments, the team or the member asking for clemency will be less humiliated and regain favor depending on how successful their pleads are. Asking for such involves either the team or the member in question making a strong case that they were not involved in the betrayer's scheme. This is done by either blaming solely on the betrayer or a team that seems most likely to be the cause of such, and disown or renounce the scapegoat from being a member of their team and therefore Passione. If the betrayer hasn't been killed by Father Diavolo, the team that the betrayer works for would have to kill the betrayer themselves, sometimes based on what Father Diavolo wants it to be done. This was the case with Team Bucciarati, having discovered that Stracciatello was paralyzed, left for dead when he was found, and Fedel Agnello was later forced to kill him by the instructions attached on Stracciatello's body.

Corruption and infighting are not unusual, like many other syndicates, and comradeship doesn't exist beyond one's team. Despite the exclusivity and not actually practicing familial nepotism in any of its ranks, Passione has a familial view that causes many to refer to their peers and superiors in such a manner, refusing to consider anyone outside of their own team and team culture as strangers at best. The only exception is the past friendship between Team Bucciarati and The Hitman Team. These friendships and bonds, however, are highly discouraged by superiors, and it is common for the higher-ups, including Father Diavolo himself, to sabotage these friendships to avoid having it grow into a strong rebellion. This was something that Father Diavolo commented when talking about Sorbetto and Stracciatello's deaths affecting their teams' relationship and using it to his advantage. Rebellion regardless is omnipresent and many members throughout the years have at least tried to plan their betrayal against their superiors or even the boss some out of greed, others because they are dissatisfied that the gang is now dealing drugs, while they joined it because it claimed to fight the drug trade going on and felt lied to when realizing their mistake of joining. However, those that try either stop before they were caught or mysteriously "disappear" and/or appear dead soon after.

The hierarchy means that those of lower ranks will be treated worse than those above them. This is especially seen as Hitman Teams are considered the most mistreated compared to their contemporaries; unlike them, Hitman Teams are only given commissions and forbidden to work outside of their teams as a means of gaining or collecting more income or participate in local governments without the syndicate's official permission. Teams in this this category have the highest turnover as a result, due to being the ones that handle "dirty work" for the syndicate, and advancement or promotion is nearly impossible. Teams or even individual members, however, may be viewed more favorably by their superiors and granted privileges as a result. Such examples include The Special Unit and The Narcotics Team, due to their ability to provide more direct benefit to Father Diavolo and therefore placed high or outside of the hierarchy respectively, and The Rise as well as Cassio Montagna being in close relation with Ogio Engio. This can cause jealousy towards these teams and mafiosos, and many will often trying to take their roles or sabotage them to gain their privileges rather than collectively work together for a bigger goal. As a result of favoritism being practiced in Passione, many teams will try to obtain favor from these special teams or mafioso so that they themselves can earn better benefits. The risk of failure is prominent. This was seen when Ceci Mariposa attempted to seduce Massimo Volpe so he could convince Father Diavolo to loosen his punishments on them, only to be publicly humiliated outright by him when her advances failed.

Respect towards a team or member of higher status is expected, especially regarding funerals, weddings, and baptisms, regardless of the relationship between them. Some Capos or high ranking mafioso members require their subordinates to pay respects for occasions outside of these events. The most important event to attend, regardless of territory and who is overseeing it, are funerals. A lower ranked mafioso attending a deceased Capo or a higher ranking mafioso's funeral ceremony for any reason, including childbirth or other deaths, or acting in a disrespectful manner is seen as a major offense, something that Mela Ghirgha mentioned when she called out Andreas Arancini's team for not attending Polpo's funeral while every team based in Naples, including Team Bucciarati, were in attendance. It is believed that The Hitman Team's reputation amongst their peers, with the exception of Hitman Team #36 was looked down upon because they did not send even one person to pay respects to Polpo, something Olio Nero admitted was something he should have done.

Despite its strict hierarchy and reputation, Passione has rather poor discipline within its ranks due to the many vindictive Stand users in the gang and how many are often brought into the gang forcibly due to having their Stands activated by the Arrow. This is a common joke shared privately among syndicate contemporaries where many are surprised that Passione hasn't destroyed itself from the inside yet. Despite practicing respect, members often criticize their peers and superiors harshly in private.

## Initiation Procedures

Unlike other gangs, Passione possesses a high number of Stand users despite having less than one thousand members, due to its harsh recruiting test.

Regardless of the team they will end up in or the capo that will oversee their team, new members are taken to meet Naple's ruling capo Ogio Engio, unknowingly through his puppet **Polpo**, in a highly secured prison in Naples. From there, after a quick search and pat-down from the guards, Polpo conducts a brief interview one-on-one to know the potential candidate, taking in consideration their intentions of joining and which team they want to serve. Polpo will then offer the candidate a lighter, with the initiation being a task to keep the lighter lit for a full 24 hours, including when the candidate leaves and reenters the prison to return the lighter to Polpo again. Unlike Vento Aureo, the guards themselves are aware of what happens in the test and, despite some of them being non-Stand users, are familiar with Stands enough to know what will happen if the lighter goes off in the prison. In that case, Ogio Engio is able to halt his Stand from coming out until the user steps outside. Unbeknownst to the candidate, one of the guards is actuall Ogio Engio in disguise.

The test itself will prove to be impossible unless the candidate is already a Stand user and able to use their Stand to keep the lighter lit. However, having the lighter unlit and relit again will cause Ogio Engio's Stand Y2K to emerge and hit whoever grabs the lighter with a Stand arrow. Regardless of whether the task is successful, once the lighter is brought back, Ogio Engio, via Polpo, will give his blessing to have the candidate join the team he assigns them to. The candidate is often assigned to the team of the mafioso or capo that recruited the candidate to join, but sometimes assigned to a different team that the Capo will deem a "better fit". A member of the team they are assigned to, usually the leader, will pick them up. Depending on the team, the candidate may go through more initiations before becoming the team's own official member.

Potential members, if deemed worthy by the Arrow, are turned into Stand users, often against their own will. Those who somehow get involved with the test, either as a bystander, or attempting to help the member, could end up becoming Stand users and forced to become a member of Passione as a result. This case happened with Taehyung Pescatore, when he obtained his Stand due to picking up a lighter and relighting it without realizing what will happen. In the case where a member is recruited by accident, their presence are made known to Ogio Engio and the newly made user is brought back to him. Because the Arrow determines worthiness of its victims and killing those otherwise, this caused Passione to have a smaller number of members. This procedure not only allows Passione to find suitable members but takes Stand users out of the public to avoid them from possibly plotting against them, either by themselves or by joining a rival team.

New members are given "code names", which can range from being similar to their current names or vastly different. Naming styles vary from team to team but it is commonly acknowledged that those with higher status and/or public reputation, either as their current positions or previously, have a first and last name as a code name. Teams will either allow members to choose their names or have one chosen for them to suit the team overall, and some teams require names to be changed periodically for security reasons. These code names are used amongst team members, between subordinates and superiors, and the public, and many members will only be referred as much; it is not unusual for team members to not know each other's legal/birth names due to not introducing themselves as such and documentations may even be forged to use their code names to hide their real names. This naming also extends to the team itself, as teams are numbered but can be referred to as their number or a nickname either by their own right or by their peers.

## Syndicate Policies

Unlike its contemporaries, Passione is known for their very complex yet efficient system of communication regarding their computer and telephone messaging approaches. These systems are maintained by specific Information Teams specializing in technologies and telecommunications and allow mafiosos to send encrypted messages and use technologies that are farther advanced compared to publicly available technology at the time. It is rumored that Passione is a stakeholder for various tech companies in Silicon Valley that specialize in security and networking, which allowed them to have such advance systems of communication and would use some of their profits in the drug trade to invest in these companies. These systems work similarly as a VPN that also tracks and stores messages when necessary. If Father Diavolo wants a direct message to the team or individual, he will use these systems and has his own specific encryption to verify that he is the real Boss.

Besides the messaging system, Father Diavolo and other superiors will communicate with each other or their subordinates via a Capo, a member of the Special Unit, or by a Dead Caller. The last form of communication is rather unusual but often used to discard individuals or as part of a team's punishment. Dead Callers are often unwilling victims forced to relay messages and either commit suicide or be killed soon after to avoid further issues. Rarely are Dead Callers willing but they are used when Passione is in need of disposing individuals- either their own, their victims, or their enemies. In terms of their own, it is rare for a member to relay a message to their own team without them actually being killed afterwards, but it is possible if the messenger is highly favored and possibly meant to have a few more tasks to perform before actually being killed.

 Passione/History

* In reference to the English dub version of *Vento Aureo* often referring Passione as "the *famiglia*", various mafiosos often used familial references to each other. Notably, the boss is referred to as Father Diavolo rather than just Diavolo or Boss.
	+ This is also seen when Ogio Engio, through Polpo, insisted that Giorno Giovanna can consider him as a father figure, and how Capo Pericolo is often referred to by The Hitman Team as "grandfather".
* Even in the original *Vento Aureo*, it is unknown how Giorno exactly was able to take over Passione smoothly. It is also unknown whether both Consiglieri were aware of Giorno not actually being the real leader.