Tullia Zevi (née Calabi) (2 February 1919 – 22 January 2011) was an Italian journalist and writer. Zevi's family fled Italy to France and then to the US after the rise of fascism in the 1930s. While in New York City, she married

Bruno Zevi Bruno Zevi (22 January 1918 – 9 January 2000) was an Italian architect, historian, professor, curator, author, and editor. Zevi was a vocal critic of "classicizing" modern architecture and postmodernism. Early life Zevi was born and died i ...

. She returned to Europe in 1946, and was one of the few women journalists to report the

Nuremberg Trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945, Nazi Germany invaded ...

. On her return to Italy, she played a major role in

Interfaith dialog Interfaith dialogue refers to cooperative, constructive, and positive interaction between people of different religious traditions (i.e. "faiths") and/or spiritual or humanistic beliefs, at both the individual and institutional levels. It is ...

, and was active in Italian

Centre-left politics Centre-left politics lean to the left on the left–right political spectrum but are closer to the centre than other left-wing politics. Those on the centre-left believe in working within the established systems to improve social justice. The ...

. Zevi was president of the

Union of Italian Jewish Communities The Union of Italian Jewish Communities ( Italian: ''Unione delle comunità ebraiche italiane'', UCEI) is a national association that represents over twenty Jewish community associations in Italy. It was founded in 1911 as the ''Comitato delle ...

from 1983 to 1998.

Biography

Zevi was born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, one of four children of a middle-class Jewish-Italian family. Her father Giuseppe Calabi was a lawyer and prominent

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

. Her brother is the mathematician

Eugenio Calabi Eugenio Calabi (born 11 May 1923) is an Italian-born American mathematician and the Thomas A. Scott Professor of Mathematics, Emeritus, at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in differential geometry, partial differential equations and ...

. Zevi studied philosophy at the

University of Milan The University of Milan ( it, Università degli Studi di Milano; la, Universitas Studiorum Mediolanensis), known colloquially as UniMi or Statale, is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest uni ...

and studied music the

Milan Conservatory The Milan Conservatory (''Conservatorio di Milano'') is a college of music in Milan, Italy. History The conservatory was established by a royal decree of 1807 in Milan, capital of the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy. It opened the following year ...

. When the Fascist government of Italy passed

Anti-Jewish laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". Some were adopted in the 1930s and 1940s in Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy a ...

, Zevi was on holiday in Switzerland with her family. Later they moved to France, where Zevi continued her studies at

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

in Paris. Anticipating the

Fall of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wo ...

, the Calabi family emigrated to the United States, where she joined the antifascist

Mazzini Society The Mazzini Society was an antifascist political association, formed on a democratic and republican basis, situating itself within the tradition of the Risorgimento, and created in the United States by Italian-American immigrants in the late 1930s. ...

and considered

Gaetano Salvemini Gaetano Salvemini (; 8 September 1873 – 6 September 1957) was an Italian Socialist and antifascist politician, historian and writer. Born in a family of modest means, he became an acclaimed historian both in Italy and abroad, particularly in ...

her teacher. In New York she met architect

. The couple married in 1940. As a journalist, Zevi reported the

. Zevi returned to Italy in 1946. Zevi was an Italian correspondent for London-based newspaper

The Jewish Chronicle ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

from 1948 to 1963 and Israeli newspaper

Maariv ''Maariv'' or ''Maʿariv'' (, ), also known as ''Arvit'' (, ), is a Jewish prayer service held in the evening or night. It consists primarily of the evening ''Shema'' and ''Amidah''. The service will often begin with two verses from Psalms, ...

from 1960 to 1993.

Awards

Zevi was awarded the Knighthood of the Great Cross in 1993 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zevi, Tullia 1919 births 2011 deaths Journalists from Milan 20th-century Italian Jews Presidents of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities Italian women writers Italian writers Italian women journalists University of Milan alumni 20th-century Italian women Italian expatriates in France Italian expatriates in the United States Jewish Italian writers