Giovanni Renesi I

Giovanni Renesi (; ) was an ethnic Albanian stratioti captain, serving the Kingdom of Naples in the late 16th century. He participated in various war actions, counting in 1590 twenty-six years of service.

Biography Giovanni was a member of the Albanian family of Renesi, who originated from the region around Lezhë, in northern Albania. Giovanni left his farm and homeland to follow the Habsburg emperor.

Giovanni moved with his family from the Kingdom of Naples to Corfu. Around 1589-1590, at the request of his relative Pietro Renesi, Giovanni went to Cyprus to participate in an assembly where he met three bishops and other personalities of the island. The assembly decided to encourage Giovanni to send king Philip II of Spain a petition for help to fight against the Ottoman Empire.