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Diomede Carafa, Conte di Maddaloni, 1406-1487.
15th Century Neapolitan soldier and statesman.
Diomede Carafa, Count of Maddaloni was a loyalist of the house of Aragon in Naples. As a soldier, Carafa had assisted the Alfonso V of Aragon in the conquest of Naples in 1442 from the Angevins. Carafa went on to become a favorite advisor to his son King Ferdinand I ("Ferrante") of Naples. Carafa served as his superintendant of finances Carafa had a famous Renaissance palace built for himself in Naples in 1466.
Carafa wrote several memoirs on political, moral and military affairs. His most famous memoir, De Regis, is perhaps one of the first handbooks of economic governance. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he did not focus on princely education and ideal statesmanship, but on government "as is". Particularly valuable is his articulation of the principles of state finances and concern with the details of the economic conditions of a country. He places the revenues from the royal demesne as the central part of the government revenues, upon which expenditures should be limited, subordinating taxes to an accessory role and urging moderation in both levies and expenditures.
De Regis was originally written in Italian, composed by a semi-retired Carafa as letter to his former protege, Ferrante's daughter Eleanor, who had recently married Ercole d'Este, Duke of Ferrara. Eleanor arranged for its translation into Latin by the Ferrarese luminary Guarini, and it circulated in various European courts. It was finally published in 1688.
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All rights reserved, Gonçalo L. Fonseca