The Volruti

The Volturi are a civilized coven of vampires, the largest and most powerful one, and enforce the laws of the vampire world.

The Volturi act as the unofficial royalty of the vampire world, and operate from the city of Volterra, Italy. They have existed for at least 3000 years, and are the largest coven in existence, followed by the Olympic and the Denali covens. Carlisle Cullen lived with them for a while in his early years before he came to America. However, they do not follow a vegetarian diet in which they capture and murder several humans in a carefully planned "meal". The Volturi deal swiftly and decisively with anything they consider a threat to their city or to the vampire world; for example, they protect vampires' existence in secret. They destroy anyone who attempts to overthrow them or resist their authority and, at Caius' insistence, have hunted werewolves (true werewolves, not shape-shifters) to near extinction in Europe and Asia.

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 through mass eradication of every vampire (and any humans) present.

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