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Books, News April 18, 2023

Davide Rodogno’s Night on Earth

A complex and fascinating mosaic of the Western Humanitarian Organizations activities in the Near East After World War One One of the most impactful aspects of the International Museum of…

Academia, Essays March 10, 2023

The Last Muslims in Italy

During Dante’s lifetime, the only Muslim city on the Italian peninsula ceased to exist.  Dante does not mention Lucera Saracenorum (a Latin placename meaning “Lucera of the Saracens”) in his writings,…

Interviews January 4, 2023

A Double Bow for Primo Levi

The legendary cellist /composer France -Marie Uitti will premiere Luciano Chessa’s Piombo based on a text by Primo Levi at Magazzino Italian Art on January 21. The two-bow technique she…

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Books March 27, 2009

Jewish Life in Renaissance Italy

Roberto Bonfil,  Jewish Life in Renaissance Italy, University of California Press, 1994 With this heady exploration of time and space, rumors and silence, colors, tastes, and ideas, Robert Bonfil recreates the…

Books March 26, 2009

Outside the Party Lines

An intellectual biography of the antifascist Carlo Rosselli by Alexander Stille (The New York Times) Carlo Rosselli — one of the most courageous and interesting figures of Italian antifascism —…

Essays March 26, 2009

Acquiescence and Dissent

Acquiescence and Dissent: The Response of Intellectuals to the Fascist Racial Laws in Italy and Abroad When, in 1938, the Fascist government passed the anti-Semitic Racial Laws and the Jews…

Books March 23, 2009

History as Memory

History as Memory: Conversation with Sergio Parussa by Alessandro Cassin Writing as Freedom, Writing as Testimony, Syracuse University Press, 2008, by Sergio Parussa is a highly personal study of four…

Books March 19, 2009

Boualem Sansal Pays Tribute to Primo Levi

In a Complex New Book, Algerian Novelist Boualem Sansal Pays Tribute to Primo Levi.   Alessandro Cassin The German Mujahid, Europa Editions, 2009, by the Algerian writer Boualem Sansal is…

Books March 14, 2009

Benevolence and Betrayal

Alexander Stille, Benevolence and Betrayal: Five Italian Jewish Families Under Fascism, Picador, 2003   Winner of the Los Angeles Times Book Award this book is a profoundly moving history of…