Source[1][2] Valiano was the son of Guido and Giovanna Lunardi;  he was born in Agliana, a suburb of the Tuscan city of Pistoia, but relocated with his family to nearby Prato at the age of seven.

Due to his vocal talent, he first got noticed at the fashionable nightlife spot Caffè Margherita, in Viareggio, during a singing festival.

Natali, who had meanwhile embraced opera, won a contest at the world-famous Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, launching a brilliant career as a tenor that would soon bring him to sing in all the major theatres next to the great opera protagonists of the time, like Mario Del Monaco, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Tito Gobbi and Maria Callas.

[6] At the peak of his career, when he was sought by the main national and international opera productions, a serious car accident forced Natali to stop for months.

Among his notable students were Italian tenor Sauro Casseri, from Agliana, and soprano Mimma Briganti, from Versilia, who studied with Natali from 1985 to 1992.