Loritello was an Italo-Norman county along the Adriatic north of the Gargano, now called Rotello, in the Molise region.
It was carved out of the eastern seaboard of the Principality of Benevento following the Battle of Civitate in 1053 by members of the Hauteville family.
Geoffrey of Hauteville, a younger brother of Humphrey, Count of Apulia, began the conquest of what would become Loritello when he attacked the Lombard county of Larino and captured the castle of Morrone in Samnium Guillamatum.
It remained a part of the royal demesne of the Kingdom of Sicily until William the Bad granted it to Robert of Bassunvilla in 1154.
Under Robert III, Loritello enjoined near complete autonomy from royal officials and the counts retained the right to administer justice (justiciaria).