Salvatore Cognetti de Martiis was born in Bari on Jan. 19, 1844, to Raffaele Cognetti, a merchant, and Clorinda de Martiis.
He studied at the University of Pisa, noting while being still a student some collaborations with the Florentine literary magazine La Gioventù, inspired by R. Lambruschini and A. Conti.
From 1867 he became director of the municipal schools of Bari and professor of political economy in the Industrial and Professional Institute of Bari.
In 1868 he moved to Mantova, where he taught political economy in the Industrial and Professional Institute. A decade of intense scholarly and journalistic activity opened for Cognetti. In economics he gained recognition thanks to his ductile liberalism sensitive to the problems of the world of labor. In politics his liberalism was inspired by Cavourian teaching.
On January 1, 1878, as the winner of a competitive examination, he was called to the chair of political economy at the University of Turin, where he would teach until his death, establishing himself as the leading economist of the positive school in Italy.
Cognetti died in Turin on June 8, 1901. A decree of August 24 names the Laboratory of Economic Policy after him.
