The Giovanni Clan is actually made up of more than one family, contrary to popular opinion.
The Machiavelli, the Pisanob, the Dunsirn and the Milliners
are all considered 'major families'. That means that they are more powerful and
numerous generally than the lesser families. They also are also accorded deep
respect from Family Giovanni for the assistance or services they have given us in the
past.
The Lesser families - Della Passaglia, Ghiberti, Rosselini, and the Putanesca
are less numerous and less powerful. They also have a
variety of different issues which make them less worthy in the eyes of the Giovanni
Family.
The Giovanni Family:
The progenitors of the Clan, lead by AUgustus Giovanni. We are based in Venice and
rule that city totally. The In the late Dark Ages we became Kindred and soon cleared
out the Clan we had been embraced into of it's deadwood. Those old dusty kindred
soon became a mere footnote in history and we have never looked back. Unfortunately
the Camarilla which had just been formed when we came into ascendance was not impressed
with our quick rise to power, and declared war on us. Fortunately we were strong and
they eventually came to the bargaining table. Now they send representatives of their
various clans to Venice to brief us on their activities once every 13 years - This has
been formalized as
The Treaty of 1528. The Giovanni are the 'visible' face
of the Clan. Most other Kindred believe that only descendants of the original family
Giovanni are embraced and that our clan is much smaller than it actually is - we like this
mistaken impression and do much to foster it.
The Machiavelli Family:
Embraced for services to us during our ascension to a Clan, the Machiavelli are indeed the
descendants of Niccolo Machivalli who himself joined us in 1527. They are a
noble line, and a powerful one with holdings the world over. They lent their money
and resources to us to help us in removing the last obstacles to becoming a fully fledged
Clan. At the time of their embrace they were lead by Edon Machivalli who is still
the head of their line today. They have large holdings in Europe, specifically
Italy. They also benefit from having the most powerful non-Giovanni family member
as part
of the Clan, as Edon was embraced by Augustus himself. They are valuable family
members.
The Pisanob Family:
The Pisanob are less a family and more a religious sect. Descended from a cabal of
Aztec Priests in South America the Pisanob have a unique and thus highly useful approach
to Death and Necromancy. They still retain much of their ancestral trappings.
Even more useful to the Clan is the fact that the Pisanob look and act nothing like
how an outsider might perceive Clan Giovanni. They are powerful in South America,
and provide the Clan with numerous cadavers and preserved blood.
The Milliner Family:
A recent addition to the Giovanni Clan, mainly to help in our beachheads on the North
American Continent. Joseph Milliner, the head of the family, was involved (along
with everyone else from the Mafia to the CIA) in the assassination of John F. Kennedy
- and all because of a business dealing. They are industrialists with sweeping
holdings in the Southern and Eastern United States, as well as strong ties to the Cosa
Nostra. Though young (they have only been members of the clan for 50 years) they are
on the rise, and contribute much to the Clan, both in money and in contacts.
MINOR FAMILIES
The Della Passaglia:
Our Far East specialists, the Della Passaglia are descended from those Italian traders
that pioneered Marco Polos trade routes. They provide valuable links with Asian
Vampire, who call themselves Kue-Jin. The Della Passaglia have recently risen in
power due to capturing of several of these mysterious Kindred and the discovery that the
Kue-Jin are actually resurrected, rather than being embraced - a curious turn of events,
and worth much looking into.
The Ghiberti:
Another area that is important to us is Africa, and so it is the Ghiberti are our hand
there. However we must make do with the tools we are given, and the Ghiberti are
those tools, no matter how flawed. They research into the Abomba (the African
Wraiths) and gather information for us on the Nubian Underworld.
The Rosselini:
Sadistic Torturers who have since gone on to be bred out of existence - Pity.
The Putanesca:
Creatures of low moral temperament, they nonetheless have their uses. The procure
money for us from the seedy underside of the world, and also provide us with subjects for
our Experimentation. They hold no station in the clan.
Select the Area of the world that you are interested in to learn more about Giovanni Operations there.