TROYA, CARLO. - Historian, b. in Naples on 7 June 1784, d. there on 28 July 1858.
«One of the most powerful champions of the new historiography» (Croce [cf. bibl.], p. 3) who, in opposition to the superficial Voltairean historiography, sought to return to the examination of documents. For this reason he travelled through Italy in 1824-26 and then in 1828-31. He began by dealing with the times of Dante in the work: Del vento allegorico di Dante (Naples 1826), followed by the Veltro allegorico dei Ghibellini (1832 and 1855); the Veltro would, for him, be Uguccione della Faggiuola. Soon he turned to dealing with the
history of Italy under the Goths and particularly under the Lombards in his Apparato alla Storia d'Italia, in 5 vols. (Naples 1839-43), and his most celebrated work was the Codice diplomatico longobardo, enriched with historical notes and observations (Naples 1852-55). He was in contact with Gino Capponi and Cesare Balbo (his correspondence with the latter was published in Naples in 1869).
Of deeply Christian sentiment, he admired the work of the popes for the salvation of civilisation; at the same time an enemy of reaction, he was head of the ministers during the brief constitutional period of Ferdinand II (3 Apr.-15 May 1848); afterwards, he was left to his studies.