Born at Trapani, a fishing port in Sicily, after attending the Liceo Ximenes in his home town, where he was a friend of Giovanni Gentile, Rodolico went on to the University of Bologna.
At first his interests centred on the Late Middle Ages, with particular regard to the social history of Florence.
Later, he turned his attention towards modern history and above all that of Tuscany and Southern Italy in the eighteenth century.
[1] Rodolico was a close friend of the anti-fascist Gaetano Salvemini, who left the country during the 1920s.
[2] The former King Umberto II, while in exile, nominated Rodolico as a member of the Royal Council of Senators and awarded him the Civil Order of Savoy, the highest honour available to him.