
Francesco Saverio Merlino (born 9 September 1856 in Naples; died 30 June 1930 in Rome) was an Italian lawyer, anarchist activist and theorist of libertarian socialism.
Merlino started to participate in the anarchist movement in Italy during his university studies.
In 1884 he went into exile in England and also travelled to the USA. After he returned to Italy in 1894, he was arrested and had to spend two years in prison.
In the following years, he developed his theory of libertarian socialism in arguments with his friend Errico Malatesta.