The Volturi Coven — denotes bonded pair Aro — Sulpicia Caius — Athenodora Marcus — Didyme (deceased) The Volturi Guard — denotes bonded pair Alec Chelsea — Afton Corin Demetri Felix Heidi Jane Renata Santiago The Volturi [source] The Volturi are the largest organized coven of vampires in the Twilight series of fictional young adult novels written by Stephenie Meyer. Also known as "nighttime patrons of the arts", the Volturi and their guard enforce the simple rules of the vampire world by using their special abilities or powers. The most important rule being that vampires must not expose their true identity. Any vampire willing to break this rule will be killed. In the Twilight universe, the Volturi are the most powerful family of vampires, residing in the city of Volterra, Italy– which was supposedly named after the Volturi and which they have secretly controlled for three thousand years, since the time of the Etruscans. The Volturi are some of the most sophisticated vampires. However, unlike the Cullens, the Volturi are "real" vampires; that is, they do not follow the "vegetarian" diet that is followed by the main characters of the series, but instead drink the blood of humans. Therefore, they have red eyes instead of the topaz, golden colored Cullen eyes. The Volturi are a powerful family because they choose their members for their "abilities", and special talents. On numerous occasions some of the Cullens have been offered a place in the Volturi "clan" for their abilities. Alice Cullen, Edward Cullen and Carlisle Cullen have all been offered places. Bella Swan was also offered a place in the Volturi clan while she was in Italy saving Edward Cullen's life, despite the fact she was still human - the offer depended on her transformation. Although they are not an 'official' royal family, the Volturi are an incredibly influential coven and the Vampire Mafia. They 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 prevent overzealous covens and renegade vampires from exposing their species. In Eclipse, they traveled to Forks, Washington to destroy Victoria's evil coven of newborn vampires, as they were feeding in the nearby city of Seattle, causing an abnormally high number of deaths. Currently in the Twilight series, the Volturi are becoming an increasing problem to the Cullen family; the Cullens have promised the Volturi that they will change Bella Swan into a vampire, since she is a human who knows about the existence of vampires. Most of the Volturi have very strong powers: Jane can give anyone the illusion of pain while they are under her gaze; Aro can see all of the thoughts that a person has ever had, while making physical contact with that person; Marcus can sense relationships; Demetri can track anyone once he has the tenor of their mind. Others' powers are not mentioned, but are rumored to be just as powerful. Interestingly, Bella is unaffected by the powers which affect the mind.