Giuseppe Boitano was born in a poor shack in Sicily. His mother died upon giving birth to him, for which his father felt a great hatred for him. His father was an alcoholic and abusive who saw error as a negative trait and beat little Giuseppe and his older brother, Lucio for anything he considered wrong. If the milk was spilt, they got a beating. If either of them tripped over and fell, they got a beating. No matter how small the error was, Giuseppe and Lucio both got beatings. Giuseppe suffered the worst as his father considered him the murderer of his wife. Giuseppe clung to his older brother for protection as Lucio always confronted his father about the situation (usually with threats of killing, bringing forth additional beatings). The consumption of alcohol eventually took his father's life and Giuseppe and Lucio were left on their own.

For a while, Giuseppe and Lucio avoided school and being taken to an orphanage. They stole food and other necessary goods to survive (and relied on clever pranks to get them). The two bat-lings were an inseparable pair. Lucio was the center of Giuseppe's world. He looked to Lucio for advice, protection from bullies, and everything a little brother expected from his older sibling. In return, Lucio allowed him to take part in pranks to get their food (little Giuseppe became quite good at it). Nevertheless, there were times when he had doubts about his brother, as there were times he saw Lucio engage in heavy drinking or began showing another persona. The street life didn't last too long. The law eventually caught up with the two bats, and Guiseppe and Lucio were taken to the local orphanage.

For a while, Giuseppe and Lucio still remained close until the two were adopted by separate parents. Lucio was taken by his new parents to Milan while Giuseppe's new parents remained in Sicily. The thought of being separated from his brother devastated him, but because the head of the orphanage feared that Lucio had a dark streak, she thought it best that Giuseppe stay away from his brother. Under the care of his foster parents, he received proper guidance and proper education. To his own surprise, Giuseppe liked his new parents as well as school. His favorite subjects were mathematics, physics, and all the sciences. This was one of his influences in becoming a teacher. He became close with his foster father who was a very rational man (adding more inspiration to Giuseppe's lifestyle). Later on while he attended college, Giuseppe met and married his wife, Apollonia and bore four children: Carlo, Carolina, Fabrizio, and Annabella. He eventually graduated from college and began work as an inventor, earning a reasonable amount of money to support himself and his family.

Giuseppe treasured his family and was proud to be a father. He raised his children in the same manner his foster father raised him and placed family needs before his own. Little did he realize that he would run into his brother Lucio once again, only this time married to the Milan-born Opera singer Maria. As expected of parted siblings, Giuseppe was delighted to see his brother once again. However, he began to realize a change in Lucio. This time, Lucio broke out into unpredictable fits of temper and at times became physical with his wife. At first, Giuseppe wasn't sure what was going on, but he was aware of Lucio's drinking problems as his brother often showed up drunk when visiting his house, nearly starting fist-fights with Giuseppe. As the problems steadily got worse, Giuseppe was determined to get to the bottom of things. He didn't like what he saw. As he walked down the street one night, he witnessed a man getting shot. To his unpleasant surprise, he saw that the man who pulled the trigger was Lucio. Giuseppe was taken aback by the situation. He could not believe what he saw, nor did he want to believe. Giuseppe eventually found out that Lucio was working for the Sicilian mob and learned that the man who was shot wasn't the only man Lucio killed. His shock turned into devastation. Giuseppe learned the hard way that Lucio was no longer the brother he once looked up to. Fearing that the Sicilian mob would spread throughout Italy, Giuseppe and the rest of the Boitano family decided that it was no longer safe to stay in Italy. They left Italy for good and ended up in Liverpool, England.

The effect of Lucio's betrayal and fate left a scar in Giuseppe's heart that became more unbearable as he came to Liverpool. Although Giuseppe wasn't one to attend church often, he saw a great need to seek guidance through confession. He was fortunate to meet a priest who was sound of mind and just as reasonable as his foster father was. The priest's advice and Giuseppe's devotion to prayer helped him to overcome his brother's hurtful legacy. This led him to a job at the university in Liverpool, where he became a mathematics and physics professor. At the same time, Giuseppe always emphasized to his students that reason was the best tool to survive. He remained teaching at the university ever since.

To this very day, Giuseppe Boitano still believes that everything must be handled reasonably and teaches that message to his children. Although not everyone favors his perception of the world, Giuseppe still continues to make a difference in the lives he touches, especially his great-nephew, Fidget.

References:

No references used.

Character model(s):

Although Giuseppe Boitano was another simple character, I still wanted to provide him a deep background. Most of my pre-exposed knowledge of Italian culture, the Mafia, and Mario Puzo's The Godfather really helped. So it was no trouble in finding the voice I wanted. Long time veteran actor Marlon Brando, who played Don Corleone, was my first choice since I wanted a raspy, Italian voice. But I couldn't find any of Brando's lines fitting for the character. So I chose Peppe Barra for the voice instead.