About the Founder

Marc Aitelli is a New York-based entrepreneur and brand marketing leader with decades of experience leading flagship retail locations, building teams, and shaping how iconic brands connect with their customers. He also founded Transfer Time, helping independent clothing designers bring their designs to life. Across his ventures, one thread has remained constant: finding solutions that make people’s journeys easier.

Eventually, that instinct turned personal. With roots in Avellino, Salerno, and Napoli, Marc spent years tracing his family’s origins, piecing together names and places across oceans and generations. The records revealed more than names and dates—they revealed lives, relationships, and stories his family had carried for generations.

Among those discoveries was a century-old family mystery, uncovered piece by piece in civil records, private letters, and court papers—the kind of story every family carries and few ever trace.

Out of that journey came Castellesi. It began as a clothing line rooted in specific Italian towns—Avellino, Napoli, Roma, Milano—and the families connected to them. As Marc’s research deepened, Castellesi grew into an Italian-American heritage platform connecting people with the places, traditions, and family stories that shaped them.

Castellesi now maintains a growing database of Italian passenger manifests, alongside direct research access to Italian civil records. Together, these resources allow Castellesi to reconstruct a person’s life from birth through arrival in America—and, in some cases, follow their story beyond immigration.

Today, through its apparel and roots research, Castellesi helps Italian-Americans discover where they come from and carry that heritage forward.

Marc is a member of the Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America (OSDIA), the National Italian American Foundation (NIAF) and the Italian Genealogical Group.