Vecchio is a category of aged, male characters from the Italian commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte

Commedia dell'arte is a form of theatre characterized by masked "types" which began in Italy in the 16th century, and was responsible for the advent of the actress and improvised performances based on sketches or scenarios. The closest translation of the name is "comedy of craft"; it is shortened...

. The primary members of this group are Pantalone

Pantalone

Pantalone, or Pantalone del bisognosi, Italian for 'Pantalone of the needy', is one of the most important principal characters found in commedia del arte...

, Il Dottore

Il Dottore

Il Dottore or the Doctor is a commedia dell'arte stock character, one of the vecchi or old men whose function in a scenario is to be an obstacle to the young lovers...

 and Il Capitano

Il Capitano

Il Capitano is a masked character from the commedia dell'arte. He is often an outside who can maintain his claims only by benefit of the fact that none of the locals know him. He is usually a Spaniard given the fact that for most of the late Renaissance to well into 17th century, Italy was under...

. Pantalone and Il Dottore are the alter ego

Alter ego

An alter ego is a second self, which is believe to be distinct from a person's normal or original personality. The term was coined in the early nineteenth century when dissociative identity disorder was first described by psychologists...

 of each other, Pantalone being the decadent wealthy merchant, and Il Dottore being the decadent erudite.

They are overwhelmingly the antagonist

Antagonist

An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...

s, opposing the love of the innamorati

Innamorati

Gli Innamorati were stock characters within the theatre style known as Commedia dell'arte, which appeared in 16th century Italy. These characters were present within commedia plays for the sole purpose of being in love with one another, and moreover with themselves...

; the comic ending is produced when the zanni

Zanni

Zanni or Zani is a character type of Commedia dell'arte best known as an astute servant and trickster. The Zanni comes from the countryside. The Zanni is known to be a “dispossessed immigrant worker”. "Immigrant" in Italy at the time of the city-states, did not necessarily mean someone from...

manage to overcome them and unite the lovers.

"Vecchio" is the Italian word for "old" (as used in Ponte Vecchio, meaning "old bridge").