Domenico Caracciolo
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Domenico Caracciolo,
marquess A marquess (; ) is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German-language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman with the rank of a marquess or the wife (or wid ...
of
Villamaina Villamaina is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino, Campania, southern Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsul ...
(2October 171516July 1789) was diplomat and politician in the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
.


Life


Family origins and education

Domenico Caracciolo was the son of Tommaso, Marquess of Villamaina and Capriglia, two small towns in what is now the
province of Avellino The province of Avellino () is a province in the Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea ...
(then known as the 'Principato Ultra'). He was born in Spain, where his father was a lieutenant colonel in the service of
Philip V of Spain Philip V (; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was List of Spanish monarchs, King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724 and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign (45 years and 16 days) is the longest in the ...
. Educated in
Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, he began his career in the magistracy with a post as a judge in the Gran Corte della Vicaria, but he and that field proved mutually unsuited to one another, thus forcing him to broaden his horizons and begin a diplomatic career.


Diplomatic career

Between 1752 and 1753, during the reign of
Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735â ...
and at the height of
Bernardo Tanucci Bernardo Tanucci (20 February 1698 – 29 April 1783) was an Italian jurist and statesman, who brought an enlightened absolutism style of government to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies for Charles III and his son Ferdinand IV. Biography Early ...
's power, he held two short consecutive posts. After this he spent decades as the
Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...
' diplomatic representative across Europe – he was envoy extraordinary to
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
from 1754 to 1764, and then to London from 1764 to 1771, where he became a close friend with
Vittorio Alfieri Count Vittorio Amedeo Alfieri (, also , ; 16 January 17498 October 1803) was an Italians, Italian dramatist and poet, considered the "founder of Italian tragedy." He wrote nineteen tragedies, sonnets, satires, and a notable autobiography. Early l ...
, who became a father-figure to him, "a man of high wisdom and droll wit" and "more than a father in love". He was also elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...
in 1765. After Britain, Caracciolo moved to France for a diplomatic post, remaining there between 1771 and 1781. There he came into close contact with the more advanced circles of the French
Enlightenment Enlightenment or enlighten may refer to: Age of Enlightenment * Age of Enlightenment, period in Western intellectual history from the late 17th to late 18th century, centered in France but also encompassing (alphabetically by country or culture): ...
. He was remarkably successful, so much so that his friendship was sought by figures as notable as
Jacques Necker Jacques Necker (; 30 September 1732 – 9 April 1804) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan banker and statesman who served as List of Finance Ministers of France, finance minister for Louis XVI of France, Louis XVI. He was a reformer, but his innov ...
,
Paul Henri Thiry d'Holbach Paul Thiry, Baron d'Holbach (; ; 8 December 1723 – 21 January 1789), known as d'Holbach, was a Germans in France, Franco-German philosopher, Encyclopédistes, encyclopedist and writer, who was a prominent figure in the French Enlightenment. He ...
, Claude-Adrien Helvétius and
Jean Baptiste d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanics, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''E ...
. Some of his success was down to his ability to organise parties and his undoubted ability to be assertive in Parisian circles as a "delightful conversationalist".


Politician and reformer

After his time as a diplomat, Caracciolo had a high political career, spending five years as
viceroy of Sicily A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
. He was appointed to the post in May 1780 but only took it up in 1781, since he was reluctant to leave Paris for Sicily. His experience of the French Enlightenment led him a policy of opening up reforms as viceroy. This brought him into open and sometimes successful conflict with the privileges of the aristocracy and clergy, in which he was supported by some of the middle class, who were more inclined to support the monarchy's moderate reform policy. For example, he had the collaboration of Naples' Inquisitor General, the reforming bishop Ventimiglia, in abolishing the Holy Office. He managed to establish new rules for the administration of justice and feudal common lands. For various reasons, including the terrible earthquakes that devastated Messina in 1783, he had to give up on what he considered the most important reform – the creation of a class in which at first sight seemed to be described and designated property by its borders, cultures and annuities, a basic and essential preliminary to a taxation feudal and ecclesiastical estates His next and final post was as secretary of state (effectively prime minister) to
Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies Ferdinand I (Italian language, Italian: ''Ferdinando I''; 12 January 1751 – 4 January 1825) was Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, King of the Two Sicilies from 1816 until his death. Before that he had been, since 1759, King of Naples as Ferdinand I ...
from 1786 until his death in 1789, succeeding Giuseppe Beccadelli della Sambuca, in the post that had once belonged to his mentor Tanucci, but his reforming policy came into conflict with
Sir John Acton John Emerich Edward Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, 13th Marquess of Groppoli, (10 January 1834 – 19 June 1902), better known as Lord Acton, was an English Catholic historian, Liberal politician, and writer. A strong advocate for individual ...
's political ascendancy in Naples.


Works

In 1785, at
Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, he anonymously published ''Riflessioni su l'economia e l'estrazione dei frumenti della Sicilia fatte in occasione della carestia dell'Indizione terza 1784 e 1785'' (''Reflections on the economy and the extraction of wheat from Sicily during the famine of the third Convocation in 1784 and 1785''), inspired by a moderate 'vincolismo' (interventionism). Earlier, during his stay in London, Caracciolo published a pamphlet on water shortages in Sicily – published in Westminster in 1763, it was sold on the London market at a lower price than in
Lombardy The Lombardy Region (; ) is an administrative regions of Italy, region of Italy that covers ; it is located in northern Italy and has a population of about 10 million people, constituting more than one-sixth of Italy's population. Lombardy is ...
and is now very rare.


Notes


Bibliography

* Ernesto Pontieri, ''Lettere del marchese Caracciolo, viceré di Sicilia, al Ministro Acton (1782–1786)'', con appendice, Archivio Storico per le Province Napoletane, 1929–1932 (searchable online version) ** republished in 1932 as ''Il marchese Caracciolo viceré di Sicilia ed il Ministro Acton. Lettere inedite sul governo di Sicilia (1782–1786)'' * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Caracciolo, Domenico 1715 births 1789 deaths Diplomats from Naples Marquesses Viceroys of Sicily 18th-century Italian diplomats
Domenico Domenico is an Italian given name for males and may refer to: People * Domenico Alfani, Italian painter * Domenico Allegri, Italian composer * Domenico Alvaro, Italian mobster * Domenico Ambrogi, Italian painter * Domenico Auria, Italian a ...
Fellows of the Royal Society