FLORENCE – Farewell to Valentino Baldacci
Valentino Baldacci, a respected scholar, publisher and longtime president of the Florence chapter of the Italy-Israel Association, has passed away at the age of 88. A prominent figure in Italian cultural and intellectual life, Baldacci leaves behind a legacy of dedication to and affection for the State of Israel and the Jewish people.
He contributed to Moked and Pagine Ebraiche for many years, providing keen insights into contemporary events and the perception in Italy of Middle Eastern dynamics. One of his last articles, published on June 28, 2024, was a scathing critique of the pamphlet J’accuse by Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), which subtitle reads “The 7 October Attack, Hamas, Terrorism, Israel, Apartheid in Palestine and the War.” Baldacci called both the title and the book’s content “embarrassing.” A few weeks earlier, he had pointed out that a closer look of anti-Israel young protesters shows that “a rough ignorance hides behind their slogans.”
Baldacci authored numerous essays. Among his most recent books, published by Aska, there are Amare gli ebrei. Odiare Israele (To Love the Jews. To Hate Israel), 2020; Ditemi, perché tanto odio contro Israele? (Tell Me, Why so Much Hatred Against Israel?), 2021; Antisemitismo vecchio e nuovo (Old and new Antisemitism), 2023. He also devoted an authoritative study to the Italian statesman, politician and former PM Spadolini in Giovanni Spadolini, la questione ebraica e lo Stato di Israele (Giovanni Spadolini, the Jewish Issue, and the State of Israel), published by Polistampa in 2013.
Valentino Baldacci graduated from the School of Political Sciences “Cesare Alfieri” in Florence with a degree in Social and political science, defending a dissertation on “Piero Gobetti and his magazines”, which he discussed with Spadolini himself. From 1962 to 1965, he worked at the CIRD (Italian Centre for Research and Documentation) in Rome. He then was one of the founders of the Guaraldi publishing house and a consultant to the Giunti Marzocco publishing house.
He was also Secretary General of the Committee for the celebrations of the centenary of the publication of Carlo Collodi’s classic children’s novel The Adventures of Pinocchio; Secretary-General of the National Committee for the fifth centenary of the death of the Italian painter Piero della Francesca; a consultant to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers for cultural initiatives during Italy’s six-month presidency of the European Community in the mid-1990s; and the technical and scientific coordinator of the Tuscany Region’s “Places of Faith” project. In academia, he taught many subjects, including “Development Strategies of Communication Systems,” “Cultural Communication and Marketing,” and “Cultural Communication and Planning.”
May his memory be a blessing.