Alain Elkann (born March 23, 1950) is an Italian

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

. Currently, Elkann is the conductor of cultural programs on Italian television. He is president of the Scientific Committee of the Italy–USA Foundation. A recurring theme in his books is the history of the Jews in Italy, their centrality to Italian history, 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.

Life and career

Elkann was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

,Noted Italian writer appeals for Israel
, Ruth Ellen Gruber (June 13, 2010), Jewish Telegraph Agency to a wealthy and influential family. His Italian Jewish mother, Carla Ovazza, is from the influential

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

ese Ovazza banking family (who had been early financers of

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...

), while his father,

Jean-Paul Elkann Jean-Paul Elkann (28 December 1921 – 23 November 1996) was a French banker. He was president of Compagnie Financière Jean-Paul Elkann (CFJPE). Biography Early life and education Born in Paris, Jean-Paul Elkann was the son of Montbéliard ...

, was a French Jewish industrialist, the Chairman of

Dior Christian Dior SE (), commonly known as Dior (stylized DIOR), is a French luxury fashion house controlled and chaired by French businessman Bernard Arnault, who also heads LVMH, the world's largest luxury group. Dior itself holds 42.36% shar ...

and the President of the

Israelite Central Consistory of France The Israelite Central Consistory of France (french: link=no, Consistoire central israélite de 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 d ...

, responsible for appointing the Chief-Rabbis of France. The family returned to Italy soon after his birth. He was a collaborator of important Italian writers such as

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

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 volunte ...

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

Chief Rabbi Chief Rabbi ( he, רב ראשי ''Rav Rashi'') 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 ...

Elio Toaff (former religious leader in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

) 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 has also published a book with

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

archbishop

Carlo Maria Martini Carlo Maria Martini (15 February 1927 – 31 August 2012) was an Italian Jesuit, cardinal of the Catholic Church and a Biblical scholar. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2004 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. A towering ...

, as well as a book about Islam with

Prince El Hassan bin Talal Prince Hassan bin Talal ( ar, الحسن بن طلال, born 20 March 1947) is a member of the Jordanian royal family who was previously Crown Prince from 1965 to 1999, being removed just three weeks before Hussein of Jordan, King Hussein's death ...

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

. Elkann argues that all Jews should develop a strong connection to Israel. From 2004 to 2012 he was the president of the Egyptian Museum of Turin. Since 2007 Elkann has been the president of '' Fondazione CittàItalia'' while the current president is Alberto Improda. He is currently president of the

Alliance française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

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

Palazzo Te or is a palace in the suburbs of Mantua, Italy. It is a fine example of the mannerist style of architecture, and the acknowledged masterpiece of Giulio Romano. Although formed in Italian, the usual name in English of Palazzo del Te is not t ...

(

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and '' comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture. In 2017, it was named as the Eur ...

), 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 ( it, Libera Università di Lingue e Comunicazione IULM ) 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 ...

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

Gallarate Gallarate (; 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 of railways t ...

), member of the jury of Premio internazionale Mondello Palermo and of Premio Roma, and image consultant for the municipality of Milan. 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 organizatio ...

Giuliano Urbani for five years, and on May 16, 2008, he 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 Berlusconi IV Cabinet. Biography Bondi was born in Fivizzano, province of Massa-Carrara, Italy. He first attended school at Lau ...

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

Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon B ...

in July 2009 https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?cidTexte=JORFTEXT000020849237&categorieLien=id and he received the Medaille de Vermeil award from the Académie Française in November 2010. He is a journalist at '' La Stampa'', the daily newspaper of Turin, and teaches at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

(UPenn).

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. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial workforce a ...

, with whom he had three children, two (

Lapo Elkann Lapo Edovard Elkann (born 7 October 1977) is an Italian businessman, philanthropist and grandson of Gianni Agnelli, the former controlling CEO and controlling shareholder of Fiat Automobiles. Background A member of the Agnelli family, Elkann was ...

and

John Elkann John Philip Jacob Elkann (born 1 April 1976) is an Italian industrialist. In 1997, he became the chosen heir of his grandfather Gianni Agnelli, following the death of Gianni's nephew Giovanni Alberto Agnelli and since 2004 has been leading the A ...

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

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

) now in the movie industry. His children were baptized and raised Catholic.Jewish and Italian: Celebrity writer celebrates his heritage
, Victor L. Simpson (December 4, 2004), ''Lubbock Avalanche-Journal'' After divorcing his wife in 1981, Elkann remarried with Rosy Greco in 2002;Corriere dell Sera: "Rosi Greco" da Claudia Casiraghi
28 Aprile 2014 she was also

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

. They divorced in 2009. 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 MEIS - Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah di Ferrara * Member of the Board of the Italian Academy at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

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

Bibliography

* ''Il tuffo'' (1981) * ''Stella Oceanis'' (1983) * ''Piazza Carignano'' (1985) (in English, 1986) * ''Le due babe'' (raccolta di racconti, 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 Elio Toaff, 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)

References

External links

Interview with Elkann

A Week with Elkann

Two Minutes, A Book"The Wondering Jew"
a review of ''Mitzva'' in ''Azure: Ideas for the Jewish Nation'' (Spring 2009)
Elkann's biography on TV website ''LA7.it''Book Review of his ''Envy''Book Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elkann, Alain 1950 births Living people Italian male writers 20th-century Italian Jews Italian journalists Italian male journalists Writers from New York City Italian people of French-Jewish descent Italian people of American descent Jewish Italian writers