Angelo Fortunato Formiggini: An Italian Publisher
Born in Modena to a family of court jewelers who had maintained their private synagogue for generations, Angelo Fortunato Formiggini (1878–1938) was a publisher first in Modena (1908–11), then in…
Books
Paying attention to the tonality of life: Marina Jarre’s Distant Fathers
Rewarding memoirs, like portraits, introduce us to a central character interacting with his or her world at a specific time in history. We are drawn to a memoir when all…
The Persecution and Exile of Jewish Musicians in Fascist Italy
The disproportionate impact (despite all of today’s technology and social media) of the current pandemic on musicians and performers is a pale indication of what it means —creatively, financially, and…
For a Memory Culture Beyond Victims and Perpetrators
This essay appears an preface to the English edition of Valentina Pisanty’s book The Guardians of Memory (CPL Editions, 2021). Valentina Pisanty’s The Guardians of Memory opens with a paradox…
Sartre, The Jew and the Other
Book Review: Manuela Consonni and Vivian Liska, Sartre, Jews and the Other, The Vidal Sassoon Studies in Antisemitism, Racism, and Prejudice, 2020 Abe and his friend Sol are out for a…
Laura Orvieto’s Stories of the World
Storie Della Storia del Mondo, Laura Orvieto’s Timeless Introduction to Homeric Lore. Maxine De Winter in conversation with Alessandro Cassin. Laura Cantoni Orvieto (1876- 1955) was an important Italian Jewish…
The Exact Number of Stars
Ribka Sibhatu, Aulò! Aulò! Aulò! Translated by André Naffis-Sahely from the Italian and from Italian translations of the Tigrinya and Amharic made by the author. (Poetry Translation Centre, 2020). We are thankful…
A Convert’s Tale
A Convert’s Tale: Art, Crime, and Jewish Apostasy in Renaissance Italy. Tamar Herzig’s meticulously researched and superbly written book offers an intriguing view into the dramatic life story of Salomone…
La Famiglia Rosselli – Una Tragedia Italiana
At first glance and especially from a certain distance, Amelia Rosselli, reclining in her rocker on the front porch of the little house at 9 Clark Court in Larchmont, seemed…
An extraordinary gift
Centro Primo Levi, has recently received a wonderful gift: a rare first edition of Primo Levi’s Se Questo è un uomo ( If This Is a Man) , published by…