Newsletter  (Aug 2016)  Page(s) 26.  Includes photo(s).
 
'Comtesse Vitali', is named for Marguerite nee de Cholet who at age twenty in 1887 married the Count Georges Vitali. He was perhaps the most important European railroad builder of his time, director of the large French Railway Co., and builder also of railroads in Italy, the Netherlands, and Turkey, the latter built with some financing by the Deutsches Bank, which had approached him to do so; Vitali built the first section of the Anatolian Railroad between 1889 and 1892. Comtesse Vitali, on the other hand, collected notable canvases by such famous painters as Gauguin and Matisse. The couple spent part of the year at their Villa Fiorentina on the Riviera. They owned a few other chateaus as well.
nfortunately, this lovely semi-double rose, bred by Nabonnand in 1899, is hidden in some private garden or forgotten plot or is lost entirely. The autumn 2013 issue of Roses anciennes en France mentions the 'Comtesse Vitali' in an article about Nabonnand's roses; is it still to be found growing in France? Its buds were said to be a blend of saffron and carmine, opening to cream with various shadings of carmine.

Book  (1936)  Page(s) 741.  
 
Vitali, Comtesse (tea) Nabonnand 1898; Safrano X M. v. Houtte; cream-white, carmine reflexes, very large, semi-double, fragrance 5/10, floriferous, repeats, growth 8/10

Book  (1910)  Page(s) 326.  
 
Comtesse Vitali [Hybrid Tea]; long pointed buds; colour saffron carmine, creamy white when open; growth vigorous.

Booklet  (1904)  Page(s) 11.  
 
Comtesse Vitali Hybrid tea. (Nabonnand 1898) Long pointed buds, saffron-carmine colour, opening creamy-white flowers, very large petals, vig. Gdn. Bud.

Book  (1902)  Page(s) 70.  
 
Thé. 1399. Comtesse Vitali (Nabonnand 1899), blanc crème

Magazine  (1899)  Page(s) 207.  
 
Thé. Comtesse Vitali (P. e C. Nabonnand); fiore grandissimo, semidoppio, bianco crema con riflessi di carminio, coi petali ricurvi. Pianta molto vigorosa e molto fiorifera, ottenuta da Safrano X Marie van Houtte.

Book  (1899)  Page(s) 182.  
 
Comtesse Vitalli, thé, Nabon., 1899, crème reflets carmin