Aro

Aro is a vampire.

History
Aro was born in Greece in the 1300s B.C. He was transformed into a vampire in his mid-twenties and joined forces with Marcus and later, Caius, and together with Caius's wife, Athenodora, they created the Volturi coven.

Approximately a decade after becoming a vampire, Aro changed his younger sister, Didyme, in the hope that she would develop an ability related to his, as well as his future wife, Sulpicia. However, Didyme was blessed with an ability not as useful to him; the power to make people happy. Aro's colleague Marcus fell in love with her, and she with him. However, Marcus and Didyme eventually became discontent. In order to prevent their leaving the Volturi, Aro killed Didyme: Marcus was too integral to his plans to lose. Aro had Chelsea use her ability to ensure Marcus remained loyal to the Volturi, and Marcus never found out the truth. However, this experience made Aro and Caius realize how vulnerable they could be if their mates met the same fate and so had them well protected.

By 500 AD, the Volturi had usurped control of the vampire world from the Romanian coven. Along with Marcus and Caius, Aro ruled the Volturi, although he generally acted as the spokesperson. The Volturi, under the three ancients' leadership, set down the laws of the vampire world and punished those who did not follow them, as it posed the threat of exposure to humans. His greatest assets being the discovery of Jane and Alec, two young children gifted with enormous abilities.

Family Members

 * Sulpicia (wife)
 * Didyme (sister)
 * Marcus (brother-in-law)

Powers and Abilities
Aro possesses the gift of tactile telepathy, an ability to read people's minds; he can reach far more deeply into a person's mind than Edward Cullen, because he is capable of reading every thought, feeling and memory a person has ever had in the past. This power works very effectively in gathering information and looking into thoughts that his subjects may want to hide. It is, however, limited by his need to touch the subject in order for him to access that mind. Because of this power, he can learn any visitor's past and intentions of their visit. When interrogating a criminal, he uses his power to examine the guilty party's mind and see the proof they present. It has also happened on occasion that he discovers individuals with intriguing capabilities by seeing them through someone else's memories, such as Jane and Alec, Bella, Benjamin, Kate, Zafrina and Alice.

By reading Edward's mind, he can also access any mind Edward has ever read. And like Edward, he can access Alice's mind and experience the visions that she'd had.

Since this power is mental-based, it can be blocked by Bella's power to shield, something she has been able to do since she was human, which piqued Aro's interest.

Source

 * Twilight Saga Wiki: Aro