Volturi

Background

The Volturi are the equivalent of a royal family to vampires. They operate from the city of Volterra, Italy. The Volturi have existed for at least three thousand years, if not more. They are considered the most sophisticated coven, aside from Carlisle's and Tanya's. However, they do not follow a "vegetarian" diet, as seen in New Moon, in which they capture and murder several humans in a carefully planned "meal". They are considered the de facto royal family of vampires, as they are the largest coven and most influential coven in existence . The Volturi deal swiftly and decisively with anything they consider a threat to their coven, or the vampire world. They destroy anyone who attempts to overthrow them, or resist their authority and, at Caius' insistence, have hunted werewolves (true werewolves, not shapeshifters) to near extinction in Europe and Asia.

Purpose

Although they are not the 'official' royal family of vampires, they still act as though they are, and are an incredibly influential coven. They are also considered 'nighttime patrons of the arts'; as, because of their inability to sleep, they study the arts at night. The Volturi act as guardians, keeping the secret society of vampires hidden from the human world as needed. They often send others to travel from Volterra to destroy overzealous covens from exposing vampires by mass eradication of every vampire (and any humans) present. In the Twilight series, the Volturi are becoming an increasing problem, as they want Bella turned into a vampire as soon as possible, while Edward opposes the idea. They also went to Forks, Washington to destroy Victoria's evil coven of young vampires, as they were being a menace to the neighbouring city, Seattle. However, by the time they arrived, the fight had already ended and the werewolves had to escape as the Volturi do not tolerate truces with werewolves. In addition, in the last book "Breaking Dawn" they are seen to come to destroy Renesmee as they wrongly think she is an "Immortal Child" along with those who created and protect her.

Powers

The Volturi are known for their amazing and special powers. Jane and Alec, twins and members of the guard, are credited and worshipped for having the most useful powers. Jane can cause someone to believe that they are feeling pain. This excruciating pain makes it easy for the Volturi to attack and destroy their enemies. Alec's powers are also useful when attacking the enemy. He can cut off all senses making the prey unable to see, hear or feel anything, enabling them to kill the victims without a fight. Aro, one of the leaders, can hear every single thought a person/vampire has ever had. The only way he can do this is if he has physical contact. Marcus, also one of the leaders, can sense relationships. Demetri, a member of the guard, is a tracker. He can track a person down once he has the tenor of their mind. He is known as the best tracker in the vampire world. Renata, also a member of the guard is a shield. She shields Aro and stands by his side at all times. She is described in Breaking Dawn as being so close to Aro it appears she is touching him, moving with him as "being so close , her hands slightly outstretched, her hands look to be "stuck" on Aro's cloak. She shields physical attacks. When the person/vampire is attacking she repels them by confusing them. They end up going in a different direction and are unaware of what they were doing in the first place. Chelsea, newest member to the guard, can manipulate vampires, who are wanted, to join them in Volterra. They formerly had the services of Eleazar, who could see abilities or potential abilities in vampires and humans, though he left after meeting his soulmate, Carmen.

Members

Leaders

Aro, Caius and Marcus are the leaders of the Volturi. They command the Volturi's guard and act as representatives when dealing with other covens.Aro has the gift to read every thought a human or vampire ever thought through touch.Marcus has the ablility of sensing relationships,as demostrated in New Moon.Unlike Aro and Marcus,Caius is not gifted.

-Aro
-Caius
-Marcus

The Wives

Mates of the Volturi leaders. The wives are also powerful figures of authority, but only go to trials with their husbands on behalf of extremely important matters, not leaving Volterra but once every few centuries. Didyme had the power to make an aura of happiness,similar to Jasper's gift.Unlike Didyme,Sulpicia and Athenodora are not gifted.

-Athenodora ( Caius' mate )
-Sulpicia ( Aro's mate )

The Guard

The Volturi Guard is a group of vampires with powerful gifts.The Volturi has been shown to invite only vampires with incredibly powerful gifts that the leaders of the coven see as useful to ensuring that their authority amongst the other covens goes unchallenged.When a vampire is invited into the Volturi,he or she is forced to feel content about joining due to Chelsea's gift the ability to manipulate the emotional bonds of others, usually guaranteeing a swift initiation into the group. Felix and Santiago are the only ungifted Volutri guards. The members are as follows:

-Afton
-Alec
-Chelsea
-Corin
-Demetri
-Felix
-Heidi
-Jane
-Renata
-Santiago

Former Members

-Eleazar: A former member of the Volturi. He was invited into the coven because Aro thought his ability to see the gifts and potential gifts of others was useful for when the Volturi scouted for new members. He resigned after meeting his spouse, Carmen, and joined the Denali Coven.
-Didyme: Marcus' wife. She was murdered by Aro when she and Marcus began to discuss leaving the Volturi.

Other

-Gianna (Human secretary)

Gianna is only mentioned in New Moon. She had hopes to become a vampire also but Stephenie Meyer has said that Gianna did not survive and was instead killed to sustain the Volturi. There are supposedly more unnamed Volturi and also numerous witnesses, but they are not named in the books.