Bruno Di Porto (1933-2023)

Bruno Di Porto, professor of contemporary history and great scholar of Italian Judaism, especially regarding the last two centuries, passed. Survived as a child to Nazi-fascist persecution, he had studied at the Roman high school Tasso and graduated in Literature and Philosophy with a thesis on religious minorities in the Risorgimento. Di Porto taught at the University of Pisa until his retirement and was the soul of the publication “Hazman Veharaion – Time and Idea” created thirty years ago to promote knowledge and debate around Jewish themes. He also served on the scientific committee of the Israel Monthly Review. He cultivated numerous interests, among which the history of journalism, the history of the democratic and republican movement and the events in Italy throughout the Risorgimento, which he addressed in many essays and articles that remain the living legacy of a multifaceted intellectual production. Among his most recent works must be noted the essay “The Reform movement in the context of contemporary Judaism. The presence in Italy”, published by Angelo Pontecorboli Editore. “The progressive presence is small in Italy, but minorities also deserve to be known, especially since they are part of Italian Judaism, itself a minority”, wrote Di Porto in the introduction.
His death elicited deep condolences throughout Italian Judaism, which expresses his togetherness to his wife Annamaria; to his sons Valerio and Emanuele, the former for a long-time parliamentary adviser and the latter current secretary of the Jewish Community of Rome; to his nephews Michael and Noa; to all his loved ones, and to the Jewish Community of Pisa to which he was a member.