Paola Avallone is Director of Research at the Italian National Research Council, Institute of History on the Mediterranean Europe. Her research specializes in the economic history of Southern Italy between the 16th and 19th centuries with particular attention to the banks, insurance, local institutions, and mobility of people and goods.

Donatella Strangio is Full Professor of Economic History and Director of the MEMOTEF Department at Sapienza University of Rome, Italy. She is the author of numerous books and articles in national and international journals, focusing on economic and financial history. In 2022, she published the book The Roman Stock Exchange between the 19th and 20th Centuries: A History of the Italian Stock Market in the Palgrave Studies in the History of Finance series.