(Bishop of Lipari from 1831 to 1838
The bishop is portrayed seated, in the act of blessing with his right hand and holding a paper with his left. The painting is the work of a local painter, effective in his accurate rendering of the decorative parts.
Bishop Portelli, originally from Lipari, after having assisted several bishops of Sicily in various offices, was elected bishop by Gregory XVI while he was Dean of Lipari Cathedral. During his episcopate, he never gave up the thought of having the clerical seminary opened and devoted himself totally to obtaining its sovereign approval. Death struck him on 28 January 1838 at the age of 69. In 1835, while he was Bishop of Lipari, Alexander Dumas visited the Aeolian Islands and was hosted by the Franciscan Friars in their Convent on the ‘Civita’, today the Municipal House
