Saverio Baldacchini

His father died when he and his brother Michele were still very young and so the family moved to Naples, where he studied under the historian Carlo Troya, published political essays whilst still a student and finally ended up in exile after the failure of the 1820-1821 Revolution.

He travelled extensively in Italy, Paris and Britain, reaching as far as London and becoming friends with politicians and intellectuals such as Carlo and Alessandro Poerio.

He became more and more involved in moderate liberal politics, founding several daily newspapers and in 1848 becoming a deputy to the Neapolitan Parliament for the college of Bari.

After Ferdinand II's coup and the replacement of Carlo Troya's government with that of Gennaro Spinelli di Cariati on 15 May 1848, Baldacchini left politics to devote himself to writing.

After Italian unification he returned to politics, taking an active interest in reforming the school system of the former Kingdom of the Two Sicilies and strengthening Naples University and the Accademia Pontaniana.