Vassalli came in contact with the doctrines of the ‘Age of Enlightenment’ while studying in Rome, Italy, between 1785 and 1795. He seems to have avidly read the major works of the encyclopaedists, and ventured to envisage their teachings in some concrete political form. Barely a year after terminating his studies in Rome, in 1796 Vassalli published an open letter, called "Alla Nazione Maltese" (To the Maltese Nation), as an introduction to his Maltese-Latin-Italian dictionary in which he exposed, perhaps for the first time, his philosophical and political views. The book also included a "Discorso Preliminare" (An Opening Word) in which he outlined his prospective reorganisation of Maltese society.