MILANO, ATTILIO

MILANO, ATTILIO (1907–1969), historian of Italian Judaism. Milano was born in Rome, where he studied law and economics. He immigrated to Israel in 1939 with the inception of the racist laws in Italy, settling in Ramat ha-Sharon, where he worked as a manufacturer. Milano's historical studies deal mostly with the economic and social conditions of various Italian Jewish groups, particularly stressing the study of the causes and consequences of usury and relations with the Roman Catholic Church. His Bibliotheca Historica Italo-Judaica (1954, 1964, and RMI, 1966) is an indispensable bibliographical tool for the study of Italian Jewry; it includes articles published in various periodicals by Milano himself. Among his important works are Storia degli Ebrei Italiani nel Levante (1949), Storia degli Ebrei in Italia (1963), and Il Ghetto di Roma (1964). He was editor of the department for Italian Jewish history of the Encyclopaedia Judaica. His Storia degli Ebrei in Italia, originally published in 1963 (reprinted in Torino, 1992), has become a "classic" for the history of the Jews in Italy, and it is quoted very frequently. His fine collection of books, periodicals, articles and documents on the history and traditions of the Jews in Italy was donated to the Research Center for Italian Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: E.S. Artom, in: RMI, 29 (1963), 227–30; G. Romano, ibid., 35 (1969), 369–73; idem, in: Quaderni della labronica, n. 3 (1969), 5–12; idem, et al., in Scritti in memoria di Attilio Milano, RMI, 36 (1970), 13–47. ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: G. Romano, "Attilio Milano 'ebreo letterato,'" in: Rassegna Mensile di Israel, 36:7–9 (1970), 13–20; R. Bachi, "Il primo lavoro storico di Attilio, Milano," in: Rassegna Mensile di Israel, 36:7–9 (1970), 31–34. (Alfredo Mordechai Rabello (2nd ed.)