James Gandolfini died of natural causes

The results of James Gandolfini's autopsy have confirmed the star died of natural causes.

The Sopranos star passed away on Wednesday (19Jun13) during a family vacation in Rome, Italy and local officials have now confirmed his cause of death was a heart attack.

The results of the actor's autopsy, which was carried out on Friday (21Jun13), were made public by a family friend, Michael Kobold, who held a press conference and read a statement on behalf of Gandolfini's relatives.

He said, "James came here on a vacation with his family... he had a wonderful day. He visited The Vatican and had dinner at the hotel with his son awaiting the arrival of his sister. Today we received the results of the autopsy, which stated he died of a heart attack, of natural causes. The autopsy further states that nothing else was found in his system.

"We are all devastated by this loss. James was a devoted husband, a loving father of two children, a brother and cousin you could always count on. We thank you for the privacy you have afforded us during this difficult time."

Kobold went on to reveal the family is working closely with local officials to have Gandolfini's body repatriated as soon as possible, but the process could take up to 10 days.

However, they hope to gain clearance by next Wednesday (26Jun13) or Thursday (27Jun13).

He adds, "It can take up to 10 days to get the necessary documents and paperwork to repatriate the body... We are looking forward to working with the Italian government officials to shorten that process and it looks like they are doing everything they can on their end... so we can get James' body back to America."

Kobold also refuted media reports which suggested Gandolfini was drinking heavily during dinner in the hours before his death, insisting cocktails ordered at the hotel were alcohol-free drinks for his 13-year-old son, adding, "The pina coladas were virgin (alcohol-free)... they were drunk by his son. You guys know Jim, it's not his drink of choice. He doesn't drink pina coladas," adding, "It was natural causes. There was no foul play, no substance abuse. None of that... He was happy, he was healthy. Everything was going great."

Kobold concluded the press conference by confirming Gandolfini's funeral will take place in New York City and the family hopes to schedule the service for late next week (beg24Jun13).