Crescenzo Alatri (1825 – 12 February 1897) was an

Italian-Jewish 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 ...

writer most well-known for his publication of "History of the Jews in Rome."

Biography

Born in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Alatri was educated in the

Talmud Torah Talmud Torah (, lit. 'Study of the Torah') schools were created in the Jewish world, both Ashkenazic and Sephardic, as a form of religious school for boys of modest backgrounds, where they were given an elementary education in Hebrew language, H ...

of his native city, the ''Universita' Israelitica di Roma'', and graduated as a

rabbi A rabbi (; ) is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi—known as ''semikha''—following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of t ...

. Later in his life following graduation, he was appointed secretary counselor and remained involved as an educator along with his relative

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

. He was the author of "History of the Jews in Rome," several extracts of which were published in the '' Educatore Israelita'' (1856). He is widely recognized for his

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

and

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

translator of Israel Moses Hazan's Hebrew poems, and as one of the founders of the Società di Fratellanza, a Jewish philanthropic organization dedicated to youth education and the promotion of artisanship among Italian Jewry. Alatri was active in the Italian-Jewish community and was a supporter of traditional Jewish education, similar to the one he had growing up. He was described in an obituary as "the most active and authoritative collaborator of the late Samuel Alatri in the struggle sustained until 1870 for the improvement of the fate of the Jew of the Papal States..." He died on 12 February 1897 after a long illness.

References

1825 births 1897 deaths Writers from Rome Rabbis from Rome 19th-century Italian male writers 19th-century Italian rabbis {{Italy-writer-stub 19th-century Italian Jews Italian-Jewish diaspora Jewish writers