mantelletta/mantəˈlɛtə/EtymologyBorrowed from Italian mantelletta, from mantello (“cloak, mantle”) + -etta (from -etto (diminutive suffix)), probably from Late Latin mantelletum (“a short, sleeveless cape or cloak; a mantlet”). Doublet of mantlet.nounA sleeveless, knee-length vestment open at the front which is worn by Roman Catholic prelates.“We were without comestibles, and we had no garments except those we wore, not even a shirt, and the habits, such as they were, were most inconvenient for travelling; for the Pope [Pius VII] wore his mozzetta and stola, and I [Bartolomeo Pacca] the rocchetto and mozzetta, together with the mantelletta.”