Piedmont: Unfolding Borders
Event Details
When, 150 years ago, Italy became a unified country, the Region of Piemonte was its center and the catalyst of its early development. As the oldest minority in Europe,
Event Details
When, 150 years ago, Italy became a unified country, the Region of Piemonte was its center and the catalyst of its early development. As the oldest minority in Europe, Italian Jews held a high stake in a process that sanctioned their emancipation, and they actively participated in shaping the new national life. This evening of film, family history, and books will introduce the public to a fascinating landscape of culture, intellectual vision, and social mobility.
5:30 | Opening remarks: Jacob Wisse (Yeshiva University Museum), Natalia Indrimi (Centro Primo Levi). Greetings from Tullio Levi (President of the Jewish Community of Turin and Rav Alberto Somekh).
6:00 pm | Film screening
Il Ritorno (1980) by Giorgio Treves. In memory of Dario Treves (1907-1978) and Egle Treves (1912-2009)
During a revealing journey across the Jewish architectural treasures of Piedmont, intimate memories and the story of centuries-old community unfold in impeccable cinematic style. Giorgio Treves was born in 1945 in New York where his family arrived from Turin fleeing the Racial Laws. He worked with Vittorio De Sica, Francesco Rosi e Luchino Visconti. Among many awards, he received the David of Donatello and the Grolle d’Oro.
6:40 pm | Talk
George Sacerdote, From the Ghetto to America: Five Piedmontese Families in Motion
Born in the US in 1945 to a Torinese Jewish family that had lived in Piemonte from the 1400s until 1939. He graduated from MIT and went on to work at the University of Oxford and Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study before moving into the business world. He is the author of Remembrance and Renewal; 500 Years of European Wars and Politics and their Impact on Five Hebrew Families—His talk is based in part on this book.
7:40 pm | Virtual exhibition
“Rav Dario Disegni, a 20th-Century Story”. In collaboration with the Archivio Terracini, Turin
This program is held in collaboration with the Yeshiva University Museum and the Jewish Community of Turin on the occasion of the publication of Ebrei Piemontesi: The Jews of Piedmont (YUM, 2008).
Ebrei Piemontesi. The Jews of Piedmont. Yeshiva University Museum, 2008
Published in conjunction with a Yeshiva University Museum exhibition, this collection of nine essays and beautiful illustrations provide a rare glimpse into the history and cultural traditions of the Jews of Piedmont.
The Synagogues of Piedmont. Words, Images, Objects and Architecture. Edited by Franco Lattes, Paola Valentini, Umberto Allemandi Publishing House, 2009 Born from the collaboration between the Jewish Community of Turin and one of the finest art publishers in Europe, Umberto Allemandi, this jewel of text and images vividly depicts contemporary Jewish life in Piedmont and the extraordinary artistic and intellectual her- itage that inspires it.
