Born in Bastia Umbra, Vitalis as a youth was licentious and immoral; however, he attempted to expiate his sins by going on pilgrimage to various sanctuaries in Italy and Europe.

[1] Vitalis then spent the rest of his life in the hermitage of Santa Maria di Viole, near Assisi, in utter poverty.

[2] On 29 May 2011, a head preserved as a relic, allegedly that of Vitalis, was offered at auction with an estimate of €1,000 at Annesbrook House, Duleek, County Meath, Ireland.

In November 2016, the relic was once again purchased by an antiquities and oddities collector, and permanently resides in a private gallery located in the Eastern United States.

[4] This piece has been resold twice and now resides in a private collection in northern California