The House of Vitelli, among other families so named, were a prominent noble family of

Umbria it, Umbro (man) it, Umbra (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , ...

, rulers of

Città di Castello Città di Castello (); "Castle Town") is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Perugia, in the northern part of Umbria. It is situated on a slope of the Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. The city is north of ...

and lesser '' rocche''.

History

In spite of ambitious genealogies, there is no demonstrable connection with the ancient Roman Vitellius (gens). The Vitelli had been rich merchants of Città di Castello, who made themselves masters of the town in the early fourteenth century, after civic confrontations with the rival Guelf faction of the Brancaleone, and henceforward wielded political and military influence disproportionate to their small territory, as supporters of the

Papacy The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

Members of the historic family

* Giovan Luigi "Chiappino" Vitelli (1519–1575), soldier. *

Francesco Vitelli Francesco Vitelli (1586–1646) was a Roman Catholic ecclesiastic in the papal service. Vitelli was born in Città di Castello. He was made titular archbishop of Thessalonica (16 August 1632), then successively transferred to Terni (1634) ...

(1586–1646), Roman Catholic ecclesiastic. * Niccolò Vitelli (1414–1486), condottiero. * Vitellozzo Vitelli (c. 1458–1502), condottiero. * Paolo Vitelli (condottiero), lord of Montone. * Paolo II Vitelli, marquess of Cetona and Carmiano. *Giovan Paolo Vitelli, known as Giovanni (died 1512). There is a Palazzo Vitelli in many towns of Central Italy, notably the three in

, where in addition to Palazzo Vitelli a Sant'Egidio, Palazzo Vitelli a San Giacomo (Palazzo Vitelli in Piazza), stands at the heart of the city. The 16th-century Palazzo Vitelli alla Cannoniera now houses an art gallery. In other ''comuni'' and cities: *

Cetona Cetona is a town and '' comune'' in the southern part province of Siena, Tuscany, in an area where Umbria and Lazio meet. The geographical elevation is between and the of Monte Cetona itself, at the base of which the town is situated at arou ...

: Palazzo Vitelli, built for Marchese Giovan Luigi "Chiappino" Vitelli * Pisa *

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

: Palazzo Vitelli in Campo Marzio

Modern people named Vitelli

* Joe Vitelli (1908 - 1967), American Major League Baseball pitcher * Paolo Vitelli (businessman), yacht manufacturer ( Azimut-Benetti)

In fiction

* Apollonia Vitelli-Corleone is a fictional character in Mario Puzo's novel '' The Godfather'' *Andrea Vitelli is the protagonist of Paul Féval, père's novel ''Bel Demonio'' {{surname, Vitelli