Alain Elkann
Encyclopedia
Alain Elkann is an Italian
novelist, intellectual
, and journalist
. Currently, Elkann is the conductor of cultural programs on Italian television. 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.
, to a wealthy and influential family. His Italian Jewish
mother, is from the influential Turin
ese Ovazza banking family (early allies and financial patrons of Mussolini
), while his father was a French Jewish industrialist, the Chairman of Dior
and the President of the Consistoire Central Israélite de France, 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
and Indro Montanelli
. He wrote novels, essays and articles, among which a book he co-wrote with Italian Chief Rabbi
Elio Toaff
(former religious leader in Rome
) called How to be a Jew and other works and a books of conversation with him called The Messiah and the Jews (Il Messia e gli ebrei). He has also published a book with Milan
archbishop Carlo Maria Martini
, as well as a book about Islam with Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
. Elkann argues that all Jews should develop a strong connection to Israel.
In 1976, Elkann married Margherita Agnelli
, daughter of the deceased president of FIAT
Gianni Agnelli
, from whom he had three children, two now important directors in their grandfather’s company: Lapo Elkann
and John Elkann
(in 2010 he became chairman of Fiat); a daughter Ginevra Elkann
, in the movie industry. After divorcing his wife, Elkann remarried with Rosy Greco. He is now divorced.
Since 2004 he has been the president of the Egyptian Museum
of Turin
.
Since 2007 Elkann has been the president of Fondazione CittàItalia
. He is currently president of the Alliance française
of Turin, president of Mecenate 90 (Rome), president of the scientific committee of Palazzo Te (Mantua
), 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
, where he teaches literature and arts, board member of the Museo Mega (Gallarate
), member of the jury of Premio internazionale Mondello Palermo and of Premio Roma, image consultant for the municipality of Milan.
He has been counselor of the Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani during 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
.
He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation
in 2010. He was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in December 2009 and he received the Medaille de Vermeil award from the Académie Française
in November 2010.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
novelist, intellectual
Intellectual
An intellectual is a person who uses intelligence and critical or analytical reasoning in either a professional or a personal capacity.- Terminology and endeavours :"Intellectual" can denote four types of persons:...
, and journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
. Currently, Elkann is the conductor of cultural programs on Italian television. 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
Nuovi Argomenti
Nuovi Argomenti is an influential Italian literary magazine which was founded in 1953 by Alberto Carrocci and Alberto Moravia in Rome; soon they were joined by Pier Paolo Pasolini. Following the deaths of Pasolini and Carrocci they were replaced by Attilio Bertolucci and Enzo Siciliano...
, "A" and Shalom magazines.
Life and career
Elkann was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, to a wealthy and influential family. His Italian Jewish
Italian Jews
Italian Jews can be used in a broad sense to mean all Jews living or with roots in Italy or in a narrower sense to mean the ancient community who use the Italian rite, as distinct from the communities dating from medieval or modern times who use the Sephardi or Ashkenazi rite.-Divisions:Italian...
mother, is from the influential Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
ese Ovazza banking family (early allies and financial patrons of Mussolini
Benito Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini was an Italian politician who led the National Fascist Party and is credited with being one of the key figures in the creation of Fascism....
), while his father was a French Jewish industrialist, the Chairman of Dior
Dior
Dior can mean:* Christian Dior SA, a French clothing retailer* In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional Middle-earth legendarium:**Dior Eluchíl, a Half-elven of the First Age**Dior , a Steward of GondorDior is a surname, and may refer to:...
and the President of the Consistoire Central Israélite de France, 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
Alberto Moravia, born Alberto Pincherle was an Italian novelist and journalist. His novels explored matters of modern sexuality, social alienation, and existentialism....
and Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli
Indro Montanelli was an Italian journalist and historian, known for his new approach to writing history in books such as History of the Greeks and History of Rome....
. He wrote novels, essays and articles, among which a book he co-wrote with Italian Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi
Chief Rabbi 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...
Elio Toaff
Elio Toaff
Elio Toaff is the former Chief Rabbi of Rome. On 13 April 1986, he greeted and prayed with Pope John Paul II during an unannounced visit to the Synagogue of Rome....
(former religious leader in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
) called How to be a Jew and other works and a books of conversation with him called The Messiah and the Jews (Il Messia e gli ebrei). He has also published a book with Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
archbishop Carlo Maria Martini
Carlo Maria Martini
Carlo Maria Martini, SJ is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.-Early life and education:...
, as well as a book about Islam with Prince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan
Jordan
Jordan , officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan , Al-Mamlaka al-Urduniyya al-Hashemiyya) is a kingdom on the East Bank of the River Jordan. The country borders Saudi Arabia to the east and south-east, Iraq to the north-east, Syria to the north and the West Bank and Israel to the west, sharing...
. Elkann argues that all Jews should develop a strong connection to Israel.
In 1976, Elkann married Margherita Agnelli
Agnelli
Agnelli is a surname, and can refer to:*Members of the Agnelli family of Italy, including:**Giovanni Agnelli , Italian manufacturer and founder of Fiat***Edoardo Agnelli , Italian industrialist, son of Giovanni...
, daughter of the deceased president of FIAT
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
Gianni Agnelli
Gianni Agnelli
Giovanni Agnelli , better known as Gianni Agnelli , 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, and 16.5% of its industrial investment in research...
, from whom he had three children, two now important directors in their grandfather’s company: Lapo Elkann
Lapo Elkann
Lapo Elkann is a New York-born Italian industrialist, former marketing manager. He is currently the manager of brand promotion at Fiat Automobiles. He is a "global ambassador" of the Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer....
and John Elkann
John Elkann
John Philip Jacob Elkann is an Italian industrialist. He was the chosen heir of Gianni Agnelli, his grandfather, and controls the family's automaker Fiat...
(in 2010 he became chairman of Fiat); a daughter Ginevra Elkann
Ginevra Elkann
Ginevra Elkann is an Italian apprentice film director, and, as granddaughter of Gianni Agnelli, is among the heirs to the Agnelli family fortune. She is the daughter of Margherita Agnelli and the French-Italian writer Alain Elkann; her brother, the industrialist John Elkann, is Chairman of the...
, in the movie industry. After divorcing his wife, Elkann remarried with Rosy Greco. He is now divorced.
Since 2004 he has been the president of the Egyptian Museum
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms....
of Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
.
Since 2007 Elkann has been the president of Fondazione CittàItalia
Fondazione CittàItalia
The Foundation for the cultural heritage of Italian Cities is an Italian non-profit organization whose aims are: to raise public awareness to save Italian heritage and to support art. The foundation was set up on 30 June 2003 by the Mecenate 90 Association, a number of art cities and banking...
. He is currently president of the Alliance française
Alliance française
The Alliance française , or AF, is an international organisation that aims to promote French language and culture around the world. created in Paris on 21 July 1883, its primary concern is teaching French as a second language and is headquartered in Paris -History:The Alliance was created in Paris...
of Turin, president of Mecenate 90 (Rome), president of the scientific committee of Palazzo Te (Mantua
Mantua
Mantua is a city and comune in Lombardy, Italy and capital of the province of the same name. Mantua's historic power and influence under the Gonzaga family, made it one of the main artistic, cultural and notably musical hubs of Northern Italy and the country as a whole...
), 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
IULM University of Milan
The IULM University - Milan is a university located in Milan, Italy. It was founded in 1968 and is organized in 4 Faculties.-History and Profile:“In educational processes the important thing is to know, to know how to be, and how and what to do”....
, where he teaches literature and arts, board member of the Museo Mega (Gallarate
Gallarate
Gallarate is a city and comune of Lombardy, northern Italy, in the Province of Varese. It has a population of some 51,700....
), member of the jury of Premio internazionale Mondello Palermo and of Premio Roma, image consultant for the municipality of Milan.
He has been counselor of the Culture Minister Giuliano Urbani during 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
Sandro Bondi is an Italian politician of The People of Freedom. He was appointed on 8 May 2008 to be Culture Minister until March 23, 2011 in Silvio Berlusconi's fourth cabinet.-Biography:...
.
He received the America Award of the Italy-USA Foundation
Italy-USA Foundation
Italy–USA Foundation was established to promote the friendship between Italians and Americans plus American culture in Italy. The foundation is a non-profit organization based in Rome, Italy...
in 2010. He was awarded Chevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in December 2009 and he received the Medaille de Vermeil award from the Académie Française
Académie française
L'Académie française , also called the French Academy, is the pre-eminent French learned body on matters pertaining to the French language. The Académie was officially established in 1635 by Cardinal Richelieu, the chief minister to King Louis XIII. Suppressed in 1793 during the French Revolution,...
in November 2010.
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