Alain Elkann (born 23 March 1950) is an Italian novelist and journalist. Elkann is the host of cultural programs on Italian television. He is president of the Scientific Committee of the

Italy–USA Foundation Italy–USA Foundation (Italian: ''Fondazione Italia USA'') is a non-profit non-partisan organization based in Rome, Italy, established to promote friendship between Italians and Americans plus American culture in Italy. Organization The foundat ...

. A recurring theme in his books is the

history of the Jews in Italy The history of the Jews in Italy spans more than two thousand years to the present. The Jewish presence in Italy dates to the pre-Christian Roman period and has continued, despite periods of extreme persecution and expulsions, until the prese ...

, their centrality to

Italian history Italy has been inhabited by humans Prehistoric Italy, since the Paleolithic. During antiquity, there were many ancient peoples of Italy, peoples in the Italian peninsula, including Etruscan civilization, Etruscans, Latins, Samnites, Umbri, Cisal ...

, and the relation between the Jewish faith and other religions. He is a writer for ''La Règle du Jeu'', '' Nuovi Argomenti'', ''A'', and ''Shalom'' magazines.

Early life and family

A member of the wealthy and influential Elkann family, he was born in New York City; the family returned to Italy soon after his birth. His

Italian Jewish Italian Jews (; ) or Roman Jews (; ) can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living in or with roots in Italy, or, in a narrower sense, to mean the Italkim, an ancient community living in Italy since the Ancient Roman era, who use the It ...

mother, Carla Ovazza, is from the influential

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

ese Ovazza banking family; on 26 November 1975, she was a victim of kidnapping in Turin. His great-uncle,

Ettore Ovazza Ettore Ovazza (21 March 1892 – 11 October 1943) was an Italian banker. He was an early financier of Benito Mussolini, whom he was a personal friend of, and a strong supporter of Italian fascism. He founded the anti-Zionist journal ''La nostr ...

, had been an early financial supporter of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who, upon assuming office as Prime Minister of Italy, Prime Minister, became the dictator of Fascist Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 un ...

, whom he was a personal friend of, and

Italian fascism Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

, which he supported until the

Italian racial laws The Italian racial laws, otherwise referred to as the Racial Laws (), were a series of laws promulgated by the government of Benito Mussolini in Fascist Italy from 1938 to 1944 in order to enforce racial discrimination and segregation in the King ...

of 1938. Ettore Ovazza was also the founder of an

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

journal, ''La nostra bandiera''. He was murdered in 1943 by the Nazis, along with the rest of his family, whose bodies were burned in a school boiler in

Intra, Italy Intra is a ''frazione'' of the municipality of Verbania, in Piedmont, northern Italy, located in a small alluvial plain. It is important for its port on Lake Maggiore and attendant tourism. In Intra in 1905 was founded Zust, an Italian car manufac ...

. His father, Jean-Paul Elkann, was a French Jewish industrialist, the chairman of

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior, is a French Multinational corporation, multinational luxury goods company that is controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH. , Dior controlled around 42% of ...

and the president of the

Israelite Central Consistory of France The Israelite Central Consistory of France () is an institution set up by Napoleon I by the Imperial Decree of 17 March 1808 to administer Jewish worship and congregations in France. He also directed the establishment of regional Israelite Consisto ...

, responsible for appointing the

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi () is a title given in several countries to the recognized religious leader of that country's Jewish community, or to a rabbinic leader appointed by the local secular authorities. Since 1911, through a capitulation by Ben-Zion Meir ...

s of France, from 1982 to 1992.

Career

Elkann was a collaborator of important Italian writers, such as

Alberto Moravia Alberto Pincherle (; 28 November 1907 – 26 September 1990), known by his pseudonym Alberto Moravia ( , ), was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation and existentialism. Moravia i ...

and

Indro Montanelli Indro Alessandro Raffaello Schizogene Montanelli (; 22 April 1909 – 22 July 2001) was an Italian journalist, historian, and writer. He was one of the fifty World Press Freedom Heroes according to the International Press Institute. A volunteer ...

. He wrote novels, essays, and articles, among which are a book he co-wrote with Italian Chief Rabbi

Elio Toaff Elio Toaff (30 April 1915 – 19 April 2015) was the Chief Rabbi of Rome from 1951 to 2002. He served as a rabbi in Venice from 1947, and in 1951 became the Chief Rabbi of Rome. Early life Toaff was born in Livorno in 1915, the son of the city' ...

, a former religious leader in Rome, called ''How to Be a Jew and Other Works'' and a book of conversation with him called ''The Messiah and the Jews'' (''Il Messia e gli ebrei)''. He also published a book with

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

archbishop

Carlo Maria Martini Carlo Maria Martini (15 February 1927 – 31 August 2012) was an Italian Jesuit and Biblical scholar. He served as Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. Martini entered the Society of Jesus in ...

, as well as a book about Islam with Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan. In 2010, Elkann argued that all Jews should develop a strong connection to Israel. Since 2007, Elkann has been the president of Fondazione CittàItalia, and is also president of the

Alliance française (; "French Alliance", stylised as ''af'') is an international organization that aims to promote the French language and francophone culture around the world. Created in Paris on 21 July 1883 under the name ''Alliance française pour la propa ...

of Turin, president of Mecenate 90 (Rome), president of the scientific committee of Palazzo Te (

Mantua Mantua ( ; ; Lombard language, Lombard and ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Italian region of Lombardy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, eponymous province. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the "Italian Capital of Culture". In 2 ...

), president of the FIAC of New York (Italian Foundation for Art and Culture), vice-president of the Fondazione Rosselli, board member of the

IULM University of Milan The IULM University - Milan () is a university located in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1968 and is organized in four faculties. History and profile The University Institute for Modern Languages (IULM) was founded by Carlo Bo, poet, literar ...

where he teaches literature and arts, board member of the Museo Mega (

Gallarate Gallarate (; Lombard language, Lombard: ''Galaraa'') is a city and ''comune'' of Alto Milanese of Lombardy and of Milan metropolitan area, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 54,000 people. It is the junction ...

), member of the jury of Premio Internazionale Mondello Palermo and of Premio Roma, and image consultant for the municipality of Milan. For five years, he was counselor to the

culture minister A culture minister or a heritage minister is a common cabinet position in governments. The culture minister is typically responsible for cultural policy, which often includes arts policy (direct and indirect support to artists and arts organizat ...

Giuliano Urbani. From 2004 to 2012, he was the president of the

Egyptian Museum of Turin The Museo Egizio () or Egyptian Museum is an archaeological museum in Turin, Italy, specializing in Egyptian archaeology and anthropology. It houses one of the largest collections of Egyptian antiquities, with more than 30,000 artifacts, and i ...

; he was replaced by Evelina Christillin. On 16 May 2008, Elkann was appointed by the Italian government Adviser for Cultural Events and Foreign Relations to the Italian Minister

Sandro Bondi Sandro Bondi (born 14 May 1959) is an Italian politician. He served as minister of culture from 2008 to 2011 in the fourth Berlusconi government. Biography Bondi was born in Fivizzano, province of Massa-Carrara. He first attended school at Lausa ...

. He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation in 2010. He was awarded the

Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

in July 2009, and he received the Medaille de Vermeil award from the

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

in November 2010. A journalist since 1992 and member of

Lazio Lazio ( , ; ) or Latium ( , ; from Latium, the original Latin name, ) is one of the 20 Regions of Italy, administrative regions of Italy. Situated in the Central Italy, central peninsular section of the country, it has 5,714,882 inhabitants an ...

's Order of Journalists, he works at ''

La Stampa (English: "The Press") is an Italian daily newspaper published in Turin with an average circulation of 87,143 copies in May 2023. Distributed in Italy and other European nations, it is one of the oldest newspapers in Italy. Until the late 1970 ...

'', the daily newspaper of Turin, teaches at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

, and appears on

La7 La7 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned by Cairo Communication. Cairo Communication acquired it from Telecom Italia Media, itself owned by Telecom Italia, in 2013. La7 features a generalist programming schedule, primarily ...

Personal life

In 1975, Elkann married Margherita Agnelli, daughter of the deceased president of Fiat

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat S.p.A., Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial ...

, with whom he had three children; two (

Lapo Elkann Lapo Edovard Elkann (born 7 October 1977) is an Italian businessman, philanthropist, and socialite. He is the chairman, founder, and majority shareholder (53.37%) of the Italia Independent Group. He is also the president and founder of and Ind ...

and

John Elkann John Philip Jacob Elkann (born 1 April 1976) is an American-born Italian industrialist. In 1997, he became the chosen heir of his maternal grandfather Gianni Agnelli, following the death of Gianni's nephew Giovanni Alberto Agnelli, and since 2 ...

) were involved in their grandfather's company, with Lapo now in fashion, while his daughter (

Ginevra Elkann Ginevra Elkann (born 24 September 1979) is an Italian film producer and director, heiress and socialite. She is a member of the Agnelli family and granddaughter of Italian industrialist Gianni Agnelli. Early life Elkann was born in London, on ...

) is in the movie industry. His children were baptized and raised

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. After divorcing his wife in 1981, Elkann remarried with Rosy Greco in 2002; she was also Catholic. They divorced in 2009. In addition to his American citizenship, he has French and Italian citizenship.

Ancestry

Institutional roles

* President of the Scientific Committee of the Italy-USA Foundation * President of Amici dei Giardini, Giardini Botanici Hanbury (La Mortola, Ventimiglia, Imperia) * Member of the Board of Scientific Committee of the

Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah A museum is an institution dedicated to displaying or preserving culturally or scientifically significant objects. Many museums have exhibitions of these objects on public display, and some have private collections that are used by researchers ...

* Member of the Board of the Italian Academy at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

of New York City * President of FIAC Foundation of New York (Foundation for Italian Art and Culture)

Works

* ''Il tuffo'' (1981) * ''Stella Oceanis'' (1983) * ''Piazza Carignano'' (1985) (in English, 1986) * ''Le due babe'' (short story collection, 1986) * ''Montagne russe'' (1988) – ''Misguided Lives'' (in English, 1989) * ''Vita di Moravia'' (with

, 1990, new ed. 2000) – ''Life of Moravia'' (in English, 2001) * ''Rotocalco'' (novel, 1991) * ''Delitto a Capri'' (novel, 1992) * ''Vendita all'asta'' (short stories, 1993) * ''Cambiare il cuore'' (with

, 1993, new revised ed. 1997) * ''Essere ebreo'' (with

, 1994, new ed. 2001) * ''Emma, intervista a una bambina di undici anni'' (1995) * ''I soldi devono restare in famiglia'' (1996) * ''Diario verosimile'' (1997) * ''Il padre francese'' (1999) – ''The French Father'' (in English, 2011) * ''Le mura di Gerusalemme'' (2000) * ''Interviste 1989-2000'' (2000) * ''John Star'' (2001) * ''Essere musulmano'' (with B. Hassan, 2001) – ''To Be a Muslim: Islam, Peace, and Democracy'' (in English, 2003) * ''Il Messia e gli ebrei'' (2002) * ''Boulevard de Sébastopol e altri racconti'' (2002) * ''Una lunga estate'' (2003) * ''Mitzvà'' (2004) * ''Giorno dopo Giorno'' (2005) * ''L'Equivoco'' (2008) – ''L'imprevue'' (in French, 2010) * ''Envy'' (in English, 2008) * ''Nonna Carla'' (2010) * ''Hotel Locarno'' (2011)

Honours and awards

Knight of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

, 4 December 2009. * ITA OMRI 2001 Com BAR

Commander of the

Order of Merit of the Italian Republic The Order of Merit of the Italian Republic () is the most senior Italian order of merit. It was established in 1951 by the second President of Italy, President of the Italian Republic, Luigi Einaudi. The highest-ranking honour of the Republi ...

, 30 December 2020. * Cesare Pavese Prize, 2002. * America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation, 2010. * Bellezze d'Italia Award, 2011 * Pannuzzio Prize, 2016

References

External links

Biography
at

(in Italian)
Elkann Alain
at La7 (in Italian)
Interview with Elkann
at La7 (in Italian)
Two minutes, a book
at La7 (in Italian)
A week with Elkann
at La7 (in Italian)
Alain Elkann
at Radio Radicale (in Italian)
Spring 2009 book review of ''Mitzva''
at '' Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation'' (in English)
March 2008 Book review of ''Envy''
at Booklit.com (in English)
May 2008 Book review of ''Envy''
at ''The Asylum'' (in English)
Alain Elkann
at the Center for Italian Studies at the

(in English)
Alain Elkann
at the Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America at

(in English)
Alain Elkann Interviews
(in English)
Staff
at Italy-USA Foundation (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Elkann, Alain 1950 births 20th-century Italian Jews Italian journalists Italian male journalists Italian male writers 21st-century Italian novelists Italian people of French-Jewish descent Italian people of American descent Jewish Italian writers Living people Novelists from New York City