Giulio Alberoni

Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752) was an Italian-born cardinal and chief minister of Philip V of Spain. A gardener's son from near Piacenza, he reached Spain in 1711 during the War of the Spanish Succession, arranged Philip's marriage to Elisabetta Farnese in 1714 and headed the government by 1715, becoming a cardinal in 1717. He abolished internal customs, promoted colonial trade and reorganized state finances.

His occupation of Sardinia in 1717 and invasion of Sicily in 1718 drew the Quadruple Alliance into war; after the British destroyed his fleet off Cape Passaro, he was dismissed in 1719 and returned to Italy.