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

Umbria Umbria ( ; ) is a Regions of Italy, region of central Italy. It includes Lake Trasimeno and Cascata delle Marmore, Marmore Falls, and is crossed by the Tiber. It is the only landlocked region on the Italian Peninsula, Apennine Peninsula. The re ...

, 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 Apennine Mountains, Apennines, on the flood plain along the upper part of the river Tiber. T ...

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 is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

Members of the historic family

* Giovan Luigi "Chiappino" Vitelli (1519–1575), soldier. * Francesco Vitelli (1586–1646), Roman Catholic ecclesiastic. * Niccolò Vitelli (1414–1486),

condottiero Condottieri (; singular: ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian military leaders active during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The term originally referred specifically to commanders of mercenary companies, derived from the ...

. *

Vitellozzo Vitelli Vitellozzo Vitelli (c. 145831 December 1502) was an Italian condottiero. He was lord of Montone, Città di Castello, Monterchi and Anghiari. Biography Together with his father, Niccolò, who became lord of Città di Castello, and his brothers, ...

(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. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("The most beautiful villages of Italy"). The geographical elevation is between a ...

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

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

: Palazzo Vitelli in

Campo Marzio Campo Marzio () is the 4th of Rome, Italy, identified by the initials R. IV. It belongs to the Municipio I and covers a smaller section of the area of the ancient Campus Martius. The logo of this rione is a silver crescent on a blue background. ...

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 ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'' *Andrea Vitelli is the protagonist of

Paul Féval, père Paul Henri Corentin Féval, ''père'' (29 September 1816 - 8 March 1887) was a French novelist and dramatist. He was the author of popular swashbuckler novels such as '' Le Loup blanc'' (1843) and the perennial best-seller '' Le Bossu'' (1857). ...

's novel ''Bel Demonio'' {{surname, Vitelli