FOLIGNO, HANANEL

FOLIGNO, HANANEL (Da), apostate and anti-Jewish agitator in Rome in mid-16th century; his name after baptism was Alessandro Franceschi. Foligno was one of three apostates whose slandering of the Talmud to Pope julius iii resulted in its burning in 1553. When in 1555 the Jews of Rome were accused of a ritual murder (blood libel ), Foligno insisted on their guilt. After a public confrontation between him and representatives of the Jewish community, Pope Marcellus ordered the reconsideration of the charge. In due course, the true culprit was discovered and punished. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Vogelstein-Rieger, 2 (1896), 146–51; Joseph ben Joshua ha-Kohen, Emek ha-Bakha (1895), 128, 133; REJ, 4 (1882), 95–96; F. Secret, ibid., 122 (1963), 182–3; I. Sonne, Mi Paulo ha-Revi'i ad Pius ha-Ḥamishi (1954), 66, 103–5. (Umberto (Moses David) Cassuto)