The Torelli family is an ancient Italian family, originally from Ferrara, who had for some time a lordship. It branched into many Italian cities (Fano, Bologna, Florence, Foligno, Forlì, Naples and Pavia), in France and in Poland. The Italian branches were ascribed to the nobility of various cities and possessed many titles and fiefdoms, including the county of Guastalla and Montechiarugolo of 1428 and the title of marquis on the surname for diploma of the King of Poland of 19 July 1747. A branch of the family, settled in Poland, took the surname Poniatowski; to this branch belonged the last king of Poland Stanislaus II Augusto Poniatowski.
Salinguerra was lord of Ferrara in the eleventh and twelfth centuries: the family was a vassal and feudatory of the archbishop of Ravenna. Salinguerra II between 1206 and 1240 contended the lordship of Ferrara to the Estensi, holding it in alternating phases; in the end he had to go to [2] exile. His abject nephews were the blessed Torello, a Vallombrosian hermit, and Salinguerra III, who in 1309 briefly held the lordship of Ferrara.
In Fano the Torelli came from Parma or Forlì with Viviano, son of Salinguerra II. In 1203 Attolino, son of Viviano, held the office of massaro of the aforementioned municipality.
Guido Torelli (1379-1449) was the most illustrious personage of the family: captain of the Gonzagas, of the Estensi and from 1415 of the Duke of Milan, Filippo Maria Visconti, had the Counties of Guastalla and Montechiarugolo, which were sovereign states, and also the fief of Casei and of the Vicariate of Settimo in the territory of Pavia. In 1456 the sons of Guido, Cristoforo and Pietro Guido, divided their territories: on the first they touched Montechiarugolo and Casei, on the second Guastalla and Settimo.

In the line of Cristoforo, in 1612 Count Pio was unjustly sentenced to death on charges of having conspired against Ranuccio I Farnese, duke of Parma. The county of Montechiarugolo was confiscated by the Duke. One of his nephew, Giuseppe Salinguerra (? -1612), marrying Sofia Sreniawa, lady of Poniatow, became the progenitor of the Poniatowski princes, which belonged to King Stanislaus II of Poland. From a cadet son of Cristoforo, Guido, descended the line of the Marquises of Casei, extinct in 1825.
The first-born descent of Pietro Guido became extinct in 1569 with Ludovica, who had sold the county of Guastalla in 1539 to the Gonzagas. The cadet branch of the counts of Settimo died out in 1688.
Currently the family is represented by the branch of Foligno, the only survivor, and had ongoing proceedings at the Consulta Araldica for the recognition of the titles of marquis, patrician of Fano and noble of Foligno.