Francesco di Aiello

* Introduction
* Gallery
* History
* Trivia

### Namesake

Francesco: Spanish variation of Francis, meaning "Frenchman", di Aiello: Latin surname meaning " of the field/smallholding"

### Family

Unnamed father (alive),Unnamed mother (deceased), Cassio Montagna (younger twin brother, deceased)

### Status

Dead

Francesco di Aiello is a minor character in Fate of Zephyr. In Vento Aureo, Francesco is Prosciutto of La Squadra Esecuzioni.

He is the older twin brother of Cassio Montagna and former child-actor before his untimely death. Despite being identical twins with his brother, their mother saw Francesco as a potential star and began living vicariously through him as a result; this led to her forcing him to partake in drug usage and other unhealthy habits as a means of controlling him. Francesco's eventually died years later due to overdosing on drugs and malnutrition finally catching up to him. To this day, Cassio blamed himself for not being able to see the true abuse his brother endured, therefore preventing his brother's death, and Francesco's death also led Cassio to not only kill their mother as revenge but also become a member of The Hitman Team when Olio Nero confronted him about their deaths.

It is unknown whether he is a natural-born Stand user, as he died before Cassio discovered his Stand.

## Appearance

Earlier in his life, Francesco and Cassio were identical in appearance. However, as time passed, Francesco appeared to be shorter and thinner, as well as older, due to increased drug usage and the effects of an overworked, unhealthy lifestyle. Although Francesco's hair also ended up being brown like his brother, he is forced to dye it blonde and have it permed in various textures throughout his life depending on the role he is performing or whatever his mother deemed suitable for his appearance.

When Cassio meets his brother before dying, Francesco appeared to be the same height and weight as his brother. Francesco is dressed in a simple black t-shirt with a deep v and dark blue jeans that are cuffed at the end. He is shown wearing a silk robe with a spiderweb-like motif, similar to Prosciutto's coat, and appears more relaxed than before.

## Personality

Not much is known about Francesco beyond Cassio's perspective. Due to his experiences as a child actor, he is perceived to the world as a well-mannered, exemplary fashionable gentleman. Many describe him as a prime example of young Italian machismo.

An overprotective brother, Francesco attempted to protect his younger sibling from the reality of the abuse he endured while trying to find time to show his brother love and affection privately; this was seen when Francesco said nothing when Cassio accused him of caring more for his career over him and even appearing to be the "better" brother as a means of gaining better favor from their mother. It was heavily implied that Francesco knew that Cassio was initially considered to also become an actor alongside him and would end up enduring the same drug and emotional abuse he had to endure if that happened, so he purposely persuaded their mother to view Cassio as someone less inept to become a star and hopefully make himself successful enough to take his brother away with him from further harm. He doesn't hold his younger brother against him for thinking of such things.

Unlike the original Prosciutto, Francesco is shown to be very playful and optimistic, even outside of acting like such, but also striving to be kind and courteous to others despite the tribulations of his life. Until his death, he often encouraged his brother to see the better in people and forgive others over seeking vengeance- especially to their mother. As a people-pleaser, Francesco also does what he can to gain favor from their mother in order to avoid further abuse against him or Cassio, while also increasing his chances of gaining better opportunities and treatment. This further explains his complicit-ness in engaging in unhealthy eating habits and willingly taking wrong doses of medications as a means to pursue better goals.

## Abilities

### **Entertainment Triple Threat**

Although Francesco is known to be an actor, he is marketed as a "triple threat" due to his training and work involving singing and dancing. Most notably, he is trained in opera and classical singing as well as concert dancing and ballet. As a result of his training, he is able to perform theatre-based gigs as well as other talents in film.

## References

* "The Tragic Life of Judy Garland" by MsMojo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3knnXsJf\_Ww

## Site Navigation

Template:Characters
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 Francesco di Aiello/Gallery

 Francesco di Aiello was born Francesco Alessandro di Aiello and identifies himself as Italian.

## Life Before Passione

Francesco was the older identical twin of Cassio Montagna. They were raised by their single mother, a former actor forced into retirement upon revealing her pregnancy, after their father last minute left the family before they were born, but both brothers experienced neglect in the early stages of their lives. The mother spent much of their early life living a partying lifestyle, often leaving the two at home with minimal care, leading to Francesco to take up the role as caregiver for his brother. It wasn't until the two of them turned five that their mother began taking notice of the older brother. Despite being identical, their mother began doting on the older more after an encounter with a talent agent suggested both could become movie stars and have the potential to make it in the industry. The mother believed that Francesco had the better potential due to his notably more "mature" personality, a behavior developed from the neglect forcing the older one to care for the younger one, and began Francesco's career as a child actor in order to live vicariously through him. It is heavily implied that Francesco had a hand in convincing his mother to overlook Cassio so that the latter would not be subjugated into the abuse his mother would have given him otherwise.

The effects of Francesco's career eventually made the two brothers look and act completely different. Francesco was forced into being homeschooled and his family constantly moved around for Francesco's career and to avoid eviction. Most, if not all, of the money made from Francesco's gigs were taken by their mother to spend on her own accord and his mother thrived on the attention given to her as a mother of a rising actor. To maintain his physique, energy, and keep him subdued, Francesco was forced to take unknown substances and drugs, mostly meant for adults, in high doses. These drugs included barbituates, diet pills, amphetamines, and more; it was sometimes mixed into his food and water without his knowledge or he was guilted into taking them. Being in the entertainment industry also subjugated him to negative body images and stress from the pressures of being a child actor and model, causing him to eventually develop bulimia and anorexia. Francesco's schedule was filled with classes related to acting and dancing, modeling gigs, auditions, and related activities, which further separated him from Cassio. He also found himself frequently visiting doctors for treatments caused by the effects of drugs and malnutrition, sometimes visiting cosmetic doctors on consultations regarding future work on his body when he becomes of age.

Despite Cassio's initial resentment, Francesco continued to try and care for his brother when he can- this was made difficult due to his mother considering Cassio the "bad influence" and showed favortism for Francesco. Cassio would secretly buy Francesco food to feed him when his mother often starved the latter as a means of losing weight and helped Francesco store money he was able to salvage from his work in order to save up and hopefully move away from their mother. When Francesco saw how Cassio tried to reach out to government services and law enforcement to arrest their mother, Francesco told him to stop- as it would mean further abuse from their mother if nothing is done and the high possibility of the two becoming separated if anything was done. Francesco does have evidence piled up for a case where he would have to take his mother to court, but fears it may not be enough to free them from her custody. People that they had tried tor each out to ended up being bribed to discredit the brothers or claim there is no evidence of abuse.

## Death

Coincidentally, on the night that Francesco died, he cryptically told his brother to remember him. Cassio woke up the next morning to find his brother no longer in bed but next to it face down and on top of his own vomit. It was highly implied that Francesco accidentally overdosed on barbituates after his mother forced him to take more than usual after complaining that he was struggling to sleep. As a result, Francesco ended up rolling out of bed while high at night and eventually died choking on his vomit. The coroner's office also detailed that Francesco's body showed signs of malnutrition. However, the official report simply stated that he died of a self-inflicted drug overdose due to his mother's bribing. Rather than privately mourn Francesco's death, their mother invested herself into a large PR tour that painted her has a grieving parent who's child was a victim of drug abuse and eating disorders. The funeral was made public, against Cassio's wishes, and the media was made to believe that Francesco's death was caused by his inability to fight addiction rather than his mother's years of abuse. Francesco became a poster child for drug abuse in the child acting world and the life insurance that was under his name was given completely to their mother. At the same time, their mother showed no remorse or grief behind the scenes and continued her lavish partying lifestyle. It was clear that his mother considered Francesco nonexistent after he no longer could be used by her.

It was Francesco's death that Cassio decided to use his Stand against their mother as revenge. Cassio eventually ran away from home and encountered Olio Nero, who was initially investigating his mother's death due to her association with a powerful ally to Passione. Cassio revealed the truth of the matter, especially after he received Francesco's evidence, which the former thought was lost forever, and how he had to kill their mother as revenge. The interaction between him and Olio led to Cassio to join The Hitman Team.

## Reuniting with Cassio

While Cassio was eliminated by Father Diavolo in Sardinia, Francesco appeared in a decorated villa.

## Comparison to the Original Prosciutto

Both Francesco and the original Prosciutto were former child actors subjugated to abuse caused by their mother.

Unlike Francesco, the original Prosciutto was able to live long enough to finally escape the abuse and shortly join his team after encountering Gelato and passing out from a withdrawal. In addition to that, Prosciutto had no twin but instead a younger half-brother that shared the same name as Cassio. This younger brother's fate is mostly unknown after Prosciutto ran away from home, as the latter witnessed his brother kill their mother and cursed him out of the house soon after. It was told that the original Cassio was adopted by his biological father and legitimized as his only son while refusing to keep in contact with Prosciutto.

* Both Francesco and the original Prosciutto's life is based on the life of American actress Judy Garland. All three were unwanted from their families and ultimately forced into a career of child acting. All three were also subjugated to drug abuse, emotional abuse from their mothers, and unhealthy views on their health overall.
	+ While the original Prosciutto was able to survive and become clean from years of drug abuse, Francesco and Garland ultimately died of an accidental drug overdose. Francesco's health caused by bulimia, malnutrition, and anorexia also contributed to his health.
* Francesco once dreamed of moving to Los Angeles as a means to get away from his mother and continue his acting career on his own terms. He initially planned on saving enough money to go to America and take Cassio Montagna with him.