Natoli was born in Messina, in Sicily, on 9 June 1815, the son of Giacomo Natoli and Emanuela Cianciolo. He studied oratory and philosophy at the Accademia Carolina of Messina, and then studied law at the University of Palermo, where he graduated at the age of 22. From 1843 he taught at the University of Messina. He was offered a post as a judge, but declined it, not wishing to serve the Bourbon king. Natoli took part in the Sicilian Revolution of 1848, and as a result fled Sicily for Turin, where he spent eleven years in exile. In 1860 he was involved in organising Garibaldi's venture against Sicily, and embarked with the second wave of ships.[1] Under the dictatorship of Garibaldi he was briefly minister for agriculture, and acting minister for foreign affairs.[1][2]
In 1864 Alfonso La Marmora made Natoli minister for education in his government. In 1865, following the resignation Giovanni Lanza, he was also interim minister for home affairs for a few months.[1]
The monument to Natoli by Letterio Gangeri, in the Gran Camposanto di Messina
Natoli died on 25 September 1867 in the cholera epidemic in Messina. He was buried in the chapel of the Arciconfraternita degli Azzurri. On 6 July 1880 his remains were exhumed and moved to the Gran Camposanto di Messina [it], where Letterio Gangeri [it] made a large monument to him.[1]
^ abcdeLuciana Caminiti (2012). Natoli Gongora di Scaliti, Giuseppe (in Italian). Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani, volume 77. Roma: Istituto dell’Enciclopedia Italiana. Accessed January 2016.
^ abcNatoli Giuseppe (in Italian). Senato della Repubblica. Accessed January 2016.
