Domenico Caracciolo

Domenico Caracciolo
Painting of Domenico Caracciolo
Born	(1715-10-02)October 2, 1715 Malpartida de la Serena, Spain
Died	July 16, 1789(1789-07-16) (aged 73) Naples, Italy
Notable work	1785: Riflessioni su l'economia e l'estrazione dei frumenti della Sicilia fatte in occasione della carestia dell'Indizione terza 1784 e 1785

Domenico Caracciolo, marquess of Villamaina (2 October 1715, Malpartida de la Serena – 16 July 1789, Naples) was diplomat and politician in the Kingdom of Naples.

He was the son of Tommaso, marquess of Villamaina and Capriglia, two small towns in what is now the province of Avellino (then known as the 'Principato Ultra'). Born in Spain, where his father was a lieutenant colonel in the service of Philip V of Spain. Educated in Naples, 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.

Between 1752 and 1753, during the reign of Charles III of Spain and at the height of Bernardo Tanucci's power, he held two short consecutive posts. After this he spent decades as the Kingdom of Naples' diplomatic representative across Europe - he was envoy extraordinary to Turin from 1754 to 1764, and then to London from 1764 to 1771, where he became a close friend with Vittorio Alfieri, 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 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 He was remarkably successful, so much so that his friendship was sought by figures as notable as Jacques Necker, Paul Henri Thiry d'Holbach, Claude-Adrien Helvétius and Jean Baptiste d'Alembert. 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".