Massimo Volpe's History
Massimo was born into a formerly wealthy family, filled with aunts and uncles with no blood relation to him due to many selling their own titles to bourgeois merchants for large sums of money. His father treated these people with deference in public, but contemptuously dismissed them as new money in private.[5]
His elder brother was to inherit all the money acquired, but he suddenly left to become a chef, now leaving Massimo with the inheritance. The brothers' father greatly disapproved of Antonio's decision, clinging onto traditional values of the wealthy and hating the thought of having a nobleman of his blood partake in a trade like cooking. When Antonio couldn't be dissuaded from pursuing his career, his father disowned him.[5]Saying his goodbyes, Antonio apologizes to Massimo for how everything was now on his younger brother's shoulders. He pleads with Massimo to not hold it against their father, trapped in his ideals of class. He acknowledges that it won't be easy for Massimo to deal with, but voices his faith that Massimo can manage. Massimo questions what Antonio will do from here on, and Antonio answers that the only thing he can do is train.[5]
As Antonio is a former aristocrat, no chef in Italy would take him seriously, so he'd have to leave for a different country and cook food he's proud of. He determines that he will discard the Volpe family name, taking their mother's maiden name: Trussardi.[5]
Massimo doesn't see why his surname would matter, but Antonio clarifies that it would matter to their father. Massimo points out that Antonio hated their father enough to leave, so he doesn't understand why he should bother caring what their father thinks. Antonio counters by saying that this affects Massimo as well, as he carries Volpe's surname and the burdens with it as long as he cares to. Smiling thinly, Massimo says that what happens happens, but that he knows nothing will happen. Disturbed, Antonio asks if Massimo has anything he wants. A dream. Skeptical, Massimo sneers at the thought of having a "dream", ridiculing Antonio's own dream of wanting to cook food that would better the lives of others. He rattles Antonio by finally calling him by his nickname, Tonio, something he never did before.[5]
Tonio tells Massimo that he needs to look after himself. Massimo dismisses him, saying he gets it, but Tonio insists that neither he nor their father understands where Tonio comes from. The former laments at the world's events, but Massimo ignores them altogether. This is the last thing Tonio says to Massimo before leaving. Just a few years later, the Volpe family's debt accumulated significantly, and Massimo joined Passione. Meanwhile, his father seemed to age years overnight, and soon became an addict to the drugs Massimo made with Manic Depression.[5]
With his Stand now in use, Massimo wonders if the awakened Stand granted Tonio something similar in function, but opposite in intention, alluding the hereditary value of Stands. Massimo's Manic Depression affects the neurochemical processes of the body, resulting in uncertain and often negative health effects, most notably drug addiction. Meanwhile, Tonio Trussardi's Pearl Jam targeted disease and bodily ailments, healing them and improving their health.[5]
Massimo later enters college, where he meets Pannacotta Fugo, his future enemy. Massimo takes an instant dislike to Fugo, who pretended to be somewhat of a model student, whereas Massimo's apathy followed him into college, leading him to rarely show himself in class. The contrast annoyed Massimo, who knew Fugo's model behavior was nothing but a sham, and that he gave as little care to being there as Massimo did. When Fugo snapped at a professor who ridiculed his grandmother after her death, Massimo isn't surprised that Fugo got himself expelled by hitting the professor with a 4 kg dictionary.[5]
