Federigo Melis

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Federigo Melis (born August 14, 1914 in Florence , † December 26, 1973 there ) was an Italian economic historian . Melis was professor of economic history at the Universities of Pisa and Florence , and also founder of the International Institute for Economic History "F. Datini" in Prato . Along with Raymond de Roover , Gino Luzzatto and Armando Sapori , he is considered to be the one who most strongly promoted the idea of ​​the commercial revolution of the late Middle Ages .

Live and act

Federigo Melis studied at the Faculty of Economics and Commerce in Rome until 1939 . In the same year he became an assistant at the Cattedra di ragioneria , the accounting department, specializing in the history of accounting. After 1945 he returned to this position and remained there until 1948/49. There he was in 1948 with the Liberation Docenza for lecturers . In 1949/50 he became a lecturer in economic history at the Facoltà di Economia e Commercio at the University of Pisa and in 1952 he also took over the lectureship for the history of the Dottrine economiche . In parallel, he led from 1953 to 1957, a second lecturer at the University of Cagliari in Sardinia , specifically the newly formed Faculty of Economy and Trade, which he located next to the economic history of economic geography concerned. In 1957 he became a professor at the University of Pisa, where he was promoted to faculty director in 1962. The next year he was appointed professor of economic history at the University of Florence , but continued his professorship in Pisa until 1970.

His first work, the Storia della Ragioneria (History of Bookkeeping) was the result of his work as a lecturer in Rome. In the Italian environment only a few worked so consistently quantifying and closely on the certificates left by the merchants themselves. At the same time, he established the methodological independence of economic history. In doing so, he benefited from the immense wealth of Francesco Datini's legacy . Numerous documents from this fund were incorporated into his Documenti per la storia economica dei secoli XIII-XVI . He was undoubtedly the best expert on the enormous stock, a knowledge that also flowed into his Aspetti della vita economica medievale from 1962.

Melis also worked on the history of insurance, which he presented in Origini e sviluppo delle assicurazioni in Italia . His second focus was teaching, as the Documenti showed, which presents a system of economic historical sources that is provided with numerous examples. Ultimately, his efforts resulted in the establishment of a research institute in Prato , where Datini lived. Thus, in 1967, with the support of numerous colleagues, including Fernand Braudel , the Istituto Internazionale di Storia Economica "F.Datini" was created . One of the main goals of this institute is to create learning opportunities for young scientists and the opportunity to appear on the international stage in the annual conferences. In addition, the largest preserved merchant archive of the Middle Ages offers sources for practically every historical question. The city of Prato made him an honorary citizen.

Works (selection)

  • Prospetti storici di Ragioneria , in: Rivista Italiana di Ragioneria XXXIII (1940) 238-249.
  • Storia della ragioneria. Contributo alla conoscenza e interpretazione delle fonti più significative della storia economica , Bologna 1950.
  • La formazione dei costi nell'industria laniera alla fine del Trecento , in: Economia e Storia I (1954) 31-60 and 150-190
  • Aspetti della vita economica medievale (Studi nell'Archivio Datini di Prato), Siena 1962.
  • Werner Sombart ei problemi della navigazione nel Medio Evo , in: L'Opera di Werner Sombart nel Centenario della nascita, Milan 1964.
  • La vita economica di Firenze al tempo di Dante , in: Atti del Congresso Internazionale di Studi Danteschi (April 20-27, 1965), Florence 1966, Vol. II, 99-128.
  • Industria. Commercio. Credito , in: Un'altra Firenze. Riscontri tra cultura e società nella storia fiorentina. L'epoca di Cosimo il Vecchio, Florence 1971, 141-280.
  • Documenti per la storia economica dei secoli XIII-XVI , in collaboration with Elena Cecchi, Florence 1972.
  • Intensità e regolarità nella diffusione dell'informazione economica generale nel Mediterraneo e in Occidente alla fine del Medioevo , in: Histoire économique du monde méditerranéen, 1450–1650, Mélanges en l'honneur de Fernand Braudel, Toulouse 1973, 389–424.
  • Banche, trasporti e assicurazioni , in: Nuovi metodi della ricerca storica, Atti del II Congresso Nazionale di Scienze storiche (Salerno, April 23-27, 1972), Milan 1975.
  • Sulle fonti tipiche della storia economica: per una particolare tecnica di lavoro dello storico (relativamente ai secoli XIII-XVII) , in: Rassegna Economica XXXIX (1975) 307-332.
  • The "Nationality" of Sea-Borne Trade between England and the Mediterranean around 1400 , in: The Journal of European Economic History 4/2 (1975) 359-380.
  • L'evoluzione della ragioneria dal XIII secolo all'opera di Francesco Marchi , lecture at the Convegno di studi su Francesco Marchi (Pescia, Palazzo del Vicario, May 30, 1971), Pescia 1977, 15–36.

literature

  • Federica Nigro: Fondo archivistico Federigo Melis inventario analitico , Prato 2013.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Melis, Federigo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian economic historian
DATE OF BIRTH August 14, 1914
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence
DATE OF DEATH December 26th 1973
Place of death Florence