If you look at the name dictionary on this site, you will see that the former interpretation is generally the one accepted by experts.
Vito is the Italian form of
Vitus, which meant "life".
I believe that some Italian-Americans named
Victor,
Vittore, or
Vittorio have used
Vito as a pet form or nickname. But that is a secondary origin. In Italy itself,
Vito and
Vittorio are two separate names.