 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.When he returned to Umbria, he became a Benedictine monk at Subiaco.Vitalis then spent the rest of his life in the hermitage of Santa Maria di Viole, near Assisi, in utter poverty.