ITALYA BOOKS – From 15th century incunabula to early Ottoman prints

From 15th-century incunabula to liturgical texts born during times of political turmoil, and from halakhic compendia to early Ottoman prints, Italya Books sheds light on works that recount centuries of Jewish life and culture in Italy. In an interview with Pagine Ebraiche, Shimone Kummer, a researcher at the Israeli National Library, illustrated the variety of this heritage. Among the most surprising books, he noted, is a rare incunable printed in Naples in 1487 containing the Psalms alongside the commentary of Rabbi David Kimhi (Radak), a prominent medieval French exegete.
It is the only known copy enriched with marginal notes and handwritten completions where the text is missing. It is a remarkable testament to the dynamic world of Southern Italy’s printing industry in the 15th century and is preserved today in the Palatina Library of Parma.
The Local Teresian Library in Mantua preserves a rare booklet containing a prayer of thanksgiving from 1814 when the Lombard city came under Austrian rule again. Intended to be recited on May 10, the text celebrates the deliverance of the local Jewish community from harm during the occupation.
“It is an example of how liturgy intertwines with political history and how communities express gratitude through prayer,” Kummer explained.
Only a few copies of these prayers exist today. Besides the one held at the Teresian Library, another is preserved at Stanford University.
A very rare edition of the 613 laws of Jewish tradition is preserved in the Biblioteca Angelica in Rome. Printed in Lund, Sweden, in the early 18th century, it was published by Ludvig Decreaux. Titled DCXIII Leges Hebraeorum, the work was edited by the Swedish jurist Carl Schulten (1677–1730) and includes contributions from Rabbi Judah Leib ben Hillel of Schwersenz, who was active in the 17th century. The three-volume edition also includes a Hebrew-Latin Jewish calendar, along with extensive notes and paraphrases that make the text accessible to readers without a background in rabbinic studies. The Roman copy is the only known example outside of Scandinavian libraries.
Among the most significant rediscovered treasures is a probable unique item: a Hebrew edition of Perush ‘al ha-Torah by Joseph ben Isaac Bekor Shor, a 12th-century French exegete, printed in Constantinople in 1520. Curated by typographer Shelomon ben Mazal-Tov, the volume contains commentaries on the Pentateuch arranged by Saturday and major Jewish holidays.
Only one copy is known to exist today, held at the Biblioteca Casanatense in Rome.

Translated by Alessia Tivan and revised by Matilde Bortolussi, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities — Pagine Ebraiche.