In 1861, in his early 30’s, he took the role of lecturer at the Accademia scientifico-letteraria of Milan. In that capital of the Lombardy region, he taught, wrote texts on linguistics and published articles in Italian and European magazines. In 1873 he founded the magazine Archivio glottologico italiano that is still published today.
In 1889 he was elected Senator of the Italian Kingdom. He died in 1907 in Milan where a monument still exists to him in the cemetery.
Ascoli is important in Gorizian history. In addition to a main street bearing his name, there is a bust of him in the park Giardini Pubblici.