Jeronim de Rada was born in Makia, Calabria, and received his early education at the College of Saint Adrian of Saint Mitro Korona. In 1834, he moved to Naples to study law, becoming involved in the political and cultural movements of the time. In 1848, he launched the first Albanian newspaper, L’Albanese d’Italia, where he voiced his perspectives on contemporary events.

Following the failure of the 1848 revolution, de Rada closed his newspaper and retreated to his birthplace, remaining there until the early 1860s.

In 1861, de Rada entered a new phase in his life, emerging as a leading figure of the Albanian National Renaissance. His treatise Principles of Aesthetics (1861) was followed by the publications The Antiquity of the Albanian Nation (1864) and Rhapsodies of an Albanian Poem (1866), works that significantly contributed to the promotion of the Albanian national cause.

De Rada corresponded with Albanian patriots and European cultural figures supportive of Albania, while closely monitoring the political developments in his homeland. In 1878, he supported the League of Prizren and vocally opposed the territorial dismemberment of Albania. Through the journal Flamuri Arbrit, which he published from 1883 to 1885, he made a crucial contribution to the national movement.

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