Passione

Passione (パッショーネ) (lit. Passion in Italian) is an Italian Mafia gang serving as the main antagonistic force of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Vento Aureo. Giorno infiltrated the gang in order to seize control of it. It is remarkable by the secretiveness of its members and the unusual number of Stand users among them.

Description
Passione is one of the most powerful gang in Italy despite its reduced numbers, 757 members counting the newly recruited Giorno Giovanna. The gang is based in Naples, but operatives from Rome and Venice are not unheard of.

Hierarchy
Diavolo is the gang's founder and first head, being called "The Boss" by his subordinates. Directly beneath him is the adviser who counsels the Boss and acts as a messenger between him and the adviser's direct subordinates: the lieutnants, officers tasked with running the gang's business smoothly, usually being assigned a territory. Every lieutnant is also assigned one or several teams of gang members who are to obey him and are dedicated to one type of work, such as tax collection or drug deal. The most remarkable teams of Passione were La Squadra di Esecuzione responsible of assassinations, and Diavolo's Guard Squad, who operates directly under the Boss' orders. It's strangest member is Vinegar Doppio, who serves as the principal cover for the Boss and works as his right hand.

Giorno Giovanna eventually became the second head of Passione after overthrowing Diavolo.

Policies
Like any gang, Passione generates income via illegal trades such as drug trades, and violently protects itself against any enemy, sending members to punish anyone who harms one of them as was the case with Luca. It also entertains a certain secretiveness, his members trying to hide from the public. However the Boss of Passione has unusually secretive policies, refusing to personally meet anyone and giving orders through proxies. Diavolo spends his time trying to erase all traces of himself, ordering his own daughter to be brought before him so he could kill her; moreover any member who tries to uncover his identity is immediately branded a traitor and made an example of.

Otherwise, Passione seems to have poor discipline within its ranks, presumably due to to the many vindictive Stand users in the gang. Corruption and infighting are not unusual, and comradeship doesn't exist beyond one's team. Besides, rebellion is omnipresent and many members plan to betray 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. Anyone betraying the Boss is condemned to death, to remind everyone of the risks of rebellion.

When a lieutenant dies, it is customary for his subordinates to attend his funeral. Afterward, the next lieutnant is chosen by another lieutnant among said subordinates who has performed a task greatly beneficial to the gang as a whole, for instance bringing several billions of liras' worth of jewels.

Passione possesses a high number of Stand user despite having less than one thousand members, due to its harsh recruiting test. In order to join, one must be approved by a lieutnant in the gang through an interview. Polpo mandates a test in which one tries to keep a lighter lit for 24 hours. If the applicant fails to do so, Polpo's Stand will automatically activate and target anyone who steps into the shadows, stabbing them with the Arrow. If it succeeds, the person will turn into a Stand user if they have enough spiritual energy. If not, they will die painfully. This is considered a cost-effective way to weed out the weak while simultaneously produce Stand users and reliable soldiers.

Revenues
Prior to the events of Vento Aureo, Passione controlled Naples' hotels, port construction sites, and restaurants. Its main businesses were originally gambling and drugs. The latter drug trafficking was said to be worth billions of liras.

It can be presumed that Giorno Giovanna put an end to the drug trade, having joined Passione to stop it in the first place.

History
Diavolo founded Passione during the late 80's presumably in 1986, which knew a dramatic rise in criminality all over Europe. During this early period, Passione pretended to fight the drug trade but instead was setting up its own operations. Passione eventually became one of the most powerful gang in Italy, in no small part due to the Stand users within its ranks.

It was during that time that the seeds of Diavolo's demise were sowed, first when Jean Pierre Polnareff began to track the whereabouts of the Bow and Arrow in Europe. Polnareff eventually learned of Diavolo's identity and was defeated in battle by the latter. However Polnareff escaped and, unable to get out of Italy unnoticed by the powerful Passione, went into hiding and waited for potential allies.

Over the years Passione expanded, recruiting more Stand users. When Risotto Nero was recruited as an assassin by the gang in 1994, he formed La Squadra di Esecuzione. La Squadra di Esecuzione eventually grew dissatisfied of the mistrust the Boss had of them and asked for a territory instead of mere bonuses for each kill. After the Boss refused their request, Sorbet and Gelato began to investigate the Boss only to be made an example of. La Squadra never forgot the humiliation.

In January 2001, Donatella Una, the Boss' former lover died, leaving behind her daughter Trish. Donatella's search for a man named Solido Naso, one of the Boss' pseudonym, caught the attention of Passione, and the Boss, recognizing his daughter, ordered her brought to him. At the same time, he had sent Risotto, Ghiaccio, Illuso and Prosciutto investigating Donatella's room and erase all trace of him. Unbeknownst to him, La Squadra still wanted vengeance for Sorbet and Gelato, and decided to track Trish Una as she could lead them to the Boss.

Vento Aureo (March–April 2001)
During this period, Giorno Giovanna joined the gang in March 30 with the intent to overthrow its Boss and seize Naples from him. Giorno was cooperating with Bruno Bucciarati, a gang member who was disgusted with the drug trade and wanted to put it to an end, and Bruno introduced Giorno to the lieutnant Polpo to have him admitted within the gang. Immediately upon his admission, Giorno assassinated Polpo, which enabled Bruno to become lieutnant in his stead. Bruno and his team were subsequently tasked by the Boss to protect Trish from La Squadra di Esecuzione and bring her to Venice. Bucciarati's Gang managed to defeat and kill all but one man of the assassination team, and brought Trish to Venice to meet her father.

The Boss then attempted to kill Trish, a move which outraged Bruno and he openly rebelled, swaying all but one member of his gang to follow him. Bucciarati's Gang, under Trish's counsel, went to Sardinia investigating the Boss's past, defeating the members of Diavolo's Guard Squad sent after them, and forcing him to intervene too. In Sardinia, Diavolo defeated the last member of the assassination team Risotto Nero, and also killed Leone Abbacchio, whose rewinding powers enabled him to uncover past events. Fortunately, Leone had successfully recreated a negative of Diavolo's face and handprints.

Bucciarati's Gang search for the Boss' identity caught the attention of Polnareff, and he proposed that they meet in Rome to acquire the Arrow which would unlock a power enable to defeat Diavolo. They then departed for Rome, followed by the Boss. In Rome, the last member of Diavolo's Guard Squad Cioccolata and Secco managed to slow Bucciarati's Gang enough for Diavolo to catch up to them and even confront Polnareff first, killing him. However the Arrow transformed Polnareff's Silver Chariot into Chariot Requiem, a Stand able to manipulate souls tasked with the protection of the Arrow. This began a frantic race between Diavolo and the remnants of Bucciarati's Gang to seize the Arrow first, and with Bruno's sacrifice, Giorno Giovanna took the Arrow and unlocked Gold Experience Requiem.

The Requiem Stand defeated Diavolo, and Giorno sheltered the Arrow within the turtle Coco Jumbo afterwards before taking Diavolo's place as second Boss of Passione.

Light Novels
Two light novels provide non canonic and contradictory supplementary informations about Passione, mainly concerning the fate of Passione member Pannacotta Fugo, the only member of Bucciarati's Gang to have defected. These novels are GioGio's Bizarre Adventure 2: Golden Heart, Golden Ring, published in Japan in 2001, and Purple Haze Feedback, published in Japan in 2011.

Details
GioGio's Bizarre Adventure 2: Golden Heart, Golden Ring provides further precision on Passione's operations. It notably introduces Sogliola Lopez as a lieutenant of Passione based in Venice, who is responsible for the explosives trafficking operations of Passione. It also introduces Rigatoni, an independent Passione assassin specialized in dealing with Stand users.

This novel describes Panacotta Fugo subtly aiding Bucciarati's Gang in Venice then departing without having clearly chosen one side.

The novel also contradicts the story of Vento Aureo by having Bucciarati's Gang spend more time in Venice than in the manga.

Characters
Purple Haze Feedback introduces the narcotic team responsible for the successful drug operations of Passione. Its members are Massimo Volpe, Vladimir Kocaqi, Vittorio Cataldi and Angelica Attanasio. After Giorno Giovanna's takeover, the narcotic team went rogue.

It also introduces Sheila E, a Passione operative assigned to Pannacotta Fugo, Gianluca Pericolo, son of Pericolo, another gang member who personally serves Giorno Giovanna, and Cannolo Murolo who is responsible for spying and communication within Passione.

The novels details the activities of Passione members Pannacotta Fugo and Leone Abbacchio, who committed murders ordered by Passione behind Bruno Bucciarati's back. It also adds that Sale and Zucchero survived their respective fights and went rogue, but were killed respectively by Vittorio Cataldi and Sheila E.

History
Prior to the events of Vento Aureo, Diavolo created the narcotic team in order to make a profit. Massimo Volpe's Manic Depression allowed him to synthetize high-quality drugs which deteriotated quickly, cutting the costs of paying for actual drugs and preventing anyone from taking control of a large quantity of it. The drug trade then made Passione extremely wealthy. It was said that even Diavolo didn't dare cross the team as Vladimir Kocaqi's power could even defeat him.

At one point in the past Sheila E joined Passione to kill the assassin Illuso, and Cannolo Murolo provided information on Trish Una to La Squadra di Esecuzione, enabling them to know of her.

Six months after the events of Vento Aureo, the new Boss Giorno Giovanna legitimized his position by pretending to have been the Boss all along. Jean Pierre Polnareff became the no.2 of Passione and Guido Mista became no.3. Giorno Giovanna also settled a deal with the Speedwagon Foundation, which was worried in the rise of such a group of Stand users, and sent Pannacotta Fugo, Sheila E and Cannolo Murolo against the narcotic team which went rogue.

The trio successfully managed to kill all of the narcotic team, putting a definitive end to the drug trade. Their secret goal of destroying a Stone Mask in Sicilia which the narcotic team coveted was also a success.

Finally Passione gang member Pannacotta Fugo swore fealty to Giorno Giovanna.