Giovanni Forti Natoli or Gianforte Natoli was a Sicilian nobleman, the son of Blasco Natoli Lanza and Domenica Giambruno Perna. He was

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

of S. Bartolomeo and Belice. On 20 August 1597 he bought the barony of

Sperlinga Sperlinga is a comune in the province of Enna, in the central part of the island of Sicily, in southern Italy. It is one of I Borghi più belli d'Italia ("the prettiest villages in Italy"). Geography Sperlinga is at about above sea level, o ...

from Giovanni Ventimiglia, marquis of

Gerace Gerace (; , ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Reggio Calabria, Calabria, southern Italy. Gerace is located some inland from Locri, yet the latter town and the sea can be seen from Gerace's perch atop a vertical rock. T ...

, for 30,834 ounces of gold. Natoli was granted a ''licentia populandi cum privilegium aedificandi'' ("licence to populate and build") by the king of Sicily,

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

. In 1627 he was made prince of Sperlinga by

Philip IV of Spain Philip IV ( es, Felipe, pt, Filipe; 8 April 160517 September 1665), also called the Planet King (Spanish: ''Rey Planeta''), was King of Spain from 1621 to his death and (as Philip III) King of Portugal from 1621 to 1640. Philip is remembered f ...

. Natoli was married twice: first to Maria Cottone Aragona, daughter of Stefano, count of Bauso; and second, to Melchiora Orioles Moncada, daughter of Orazio, baron of San Pietro di Patti. With the latter he had a son, Francesco Natoli. Giovanni Natoli died on 15 July 1633.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Natoli, Giovanni 1633 deaths People from Sicily Sicilian princes