Galiani, Ferdinando (1728–1787)

Abstract

Galiani was born at Chieti, Italy, on 2 December 1728 and died in Naples on 30 October 1787. At the age of seven he was sent to Naples, where he received a classical education under the supervision of his uncle Celestino Galiani, chief almoner to the king. The young Galiani was in close touch with the cultural circles of the time and was soon introduced to the study of economics. In 1744 he translated some of Locke’s writings on money. One year later he took religious orders. His extensive monetary studies culminated in the publication of Della moneta (1751), his main work. In 1759 he was appointed secretary of the Neapolitan embassy in Paris where he lived, almost without interruptions, for about ten years. At the end of his stay he wrote the Dialogues sur le commerce des bléds (1770). After his return to Naples, Galiani held several high positions in the civil service and published other essays on policy issues and in fields outside economics (Galiani 1974, 1975).