Trojano or Troiano Spinelli (22 December 1712 – 1 January 1777) was an Italian nobleman, philosopher, economist, and historian, active in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

.Dizionario biografico universale
Volume 5, by Felice Scifoni, Publisher Davide Passagli, Florence (1849); page 159.

Biography

He was born in

Laurino Laurino is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Salerno in the Campania region of southwestern Italy. Geography Laurino is a typical medieval hill town of the Cilento, the southernmost part of Campania. It dominates the surrounding landscap ...

to the aristocratic family of Spinelli, and, as the only son of his father Giuseppe and his mother Giovanna

Caracciolo Caracciolo () is an Italian surname most associated with the noble House of Carácciolo from the Kingdom of Naples. Other people with the name include: * Alberto Caracciolo, Argentinian musician * Andrea Caracciolo, Italian footballer * Battiste ...

, in 1764 he inherited the titles of Duke of Aquara and of Laurino. In 1738, he had married Beatrice Caterina Pinto y Mendoza, a princess of Montacuto. After widowing, in 1750, he remarried with Donna Ottavia Tuttavilla, daughter of the Duke of Calabritto. His daughter Chiara Spinelli later the princess of Belmonte (1744-1823) was a painter, and for a time, mistress of Ferdinand I, King of the Two Sicilies. Troiano studied in the Collegio Clementino of Rome under

Giovanni Battista Vico Giambattista Vico (born Giovan Battista Vico ; ; 23 June 1668 – 23 January 1744) was an Italian philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist during the Italian Enlightenment. He criticized the expansion and development of modern rationali ...

, then moved to the Accademia di Loreto to study mathematics, physics and engineering. Returning to Naples, he entered the enlightenment circles including Gaetano Filangieri, Ferdinando Galiani, and the Prince of Sansevero

Raimondo di Sangro Raimondo di Sangro, Prince of Sansevero (30 January 1710 – 22 March 1771) was an Italian nobleman, inventor, soldier, writer, scientist, alchemist and freemason best remembered for his reconstruction of the Sansevero Chapel in Naples. Early l ...

. In his treatise on monetary policy, he opposed the reforms proposed by

Carlo Antonio Broggia Carlo Antonio Broggia (1698–1767) was an Italian merchant and economist. Author of many works, he was a reformer and theoretician of taxation. Life Carlo was born in Naples, the son of Giuseppe Broggia. In 1717 he moved from Naples to Ve ...

. He renovated the family palace, the Palazzo Spinelli di Laurino in Naples. He died in 1777, and was buried in the family chapel in Santa Caterina a Formiello. He wrote on a variety of subjects. *''Degli Affetti umani'' published by Stamperia Muziana, Naples, 1741. *''Riflessioni politiche sopra alcuni punti della scienza della moneta'', Naples, 1750. *''Saggio di tavola cronologica de' principi e più ragguardevoli ufficiali che anno signoreggiato, e retto le provincie, che ora compongono il regno di Napoli'' published by stamperia di Giuseppe Di Bisogni, Naples, 1762. *''Della nobiltà'' published by stampe del Porsile, 1776. *''Lettera nella quale si dimostra non esser nota di falsità, che nel diploma di fondazione della chiesa di Bagnara si ritrovi l'anno 1085 segnato coll'indizione sesta correndo l'ottava del computo volgare''

References

*In large part, derived from Italian Wikipedia entry {{DEFAULTSORT:Spinelli Troiano 1712 births 1777 deaths 18th-century Italian writers 18th-century Italian male writers Writers from Naples Italian economists Italian philosophers