Don Mateo Putanesca
Appearance: A man in his mature years, salt and pepper hair, dark-haunted eyes and in excellent physical condition. Don Mateo always wear immaculate black suits, he doesn't believe in flaunting his wealth; the only jewelry he wears is his ancient gold wedding band and a pilgrim's rosary given to him by Pope Innocent the Second, just before the First Crusade. Mateo no longer carries weapons for God and Caine have provided those in abundance, but he allows his lieutenants the illusion that they are protecting him. The Don is often mistaken for a priest by those who do not know his station and this pleases him, for he often likes to think that if this unlife hadn't been chosen for him, he might have served God instead of his family.
Behavior: Sometimes a man must do wicked deeds for the greater good and Don Mateo can think of no greater good than that of the family, who have always been there for him. He tries as often as possible to lead a virtuous life, in word and deed if not in soul; he wishes it weren't necessary, but he has become a creature of necessary evil so that his children's children won't have to know hardship or depravity. Every time he commits some evil act, you try to make up for it; he has given to his community, church and family and he has agonized privately for those he has wronged in his duties as Don. Don Mateo does not believe in being ostentatious; he never asks more than is his due and when on those rare occasions that he is wronged, he is justly famed for his righteous wrath. However, forgiveness is a Christian virtue for God and men alike remember temperance. Whether he is about to elevate a man to an exalted position or kill him, Don Mateo always looks a man in the eyes, for the eyes are the windows to the soul. The Putanesca family is everything to Mateo, past - present or future, he would and has done whatever might be necessary to see the family prosper. He would not hesitate to give his life to protect his family, for that is his role to play, for he is the Don of the Putanesca.
History: Mateo was born into the Sicilian branch of the Giovanni and grew up fighting the Saracens and French alike. Mateo's skill with a sword as well as his unswerving fealty to the Family is what earned him the right to attend the Old Don as a lieutenant and he learned a very great deal from his mentor. Mateo possessed a native courage that most lacked and his first Don understood that if Mateo was to rise to the position of Don himself, he would need to learn to make hard decisions and to understand the baser instincts of men in general. The third and fourth decades of Mateo’s life were spent honing his judgment of men’s actions and listening to the wisdom of the older Dons. As the time came to standup and take his place as a Don arrived, so did news of the Crusade called against the Saracens for the defilement of Sacred Jerusalem.
For the first and only time is his life, Mateo chose to go against his family's wishes, he traveled to France to pledge himself and his family's support of the Crusade, in gifts given to the Pontiff and support offered, Mateo was unstinting. His proudest moment was a meeting with Innocent the Second. There after, Mateo unleashed his zeal for God on the infidel Saracens and in 1099, he and his brothers succeeded in their four year quest to free the Holy Land from the Moslems.
Unfortunately, for Mateo the blades of Saracens were sharper and stronger than his zeal and a Moslem sword pierced his mail from one side to the other and he lay in a mendicant’s tent, slowly putrefying internally. For seven days and nights, Mateo screamed himself hoarse. Then near dawn, an Elder of the Giovanni arrived against all odds to give Mateo another chance to serve his family, this time for eternity, for once this gift was given, Mateo could never aspire to Heaven. As anyone can tell you, being near death grants clarity of vision and Mateo saw his error in not aiding his family first and accepted the Elder’s dark gift.
Since that time Mateo has worked to advance his family's interests and protect them from their enemies. He aided in the destruction of the Cappadocians and stood against the might of the newly formed Camarilla when it tried to crush the family. Wherever the Family needed him, Mateo was, he made countless sacrifices for the family down through the years and when asked if he would do it again, Mateo simply smiled and killed that man.
Recent Events: Wherever the Putanesca were threatened, Mateo was there, down through the centuries to take the brunt of the fight and to smooth matters out with the locals. So, it is of no surprise that Mateo was recently called upon to eliminate a threat from ancient times, the recently awakened, Lazarus. Fate has decreed that it is a fight from which he will not return, there is however, no doubt that he would never consider shirking his duty to the Putanesca family, if not Clan Giovanni...
