DISEGNI, DARIO

DISEGNI, DARIO (1878–1967), Italian rabbi and educator. Born in Florence, he completed his general studies there, at the same time studying at the Rabbinical College under S.H. Margulies and H.Z. Chajes. He served as rabbi in several communities: Genoa (1902–06); Turin (1906–09); and Verona (1909–24). During World War i he was a military chaplain and in 1922 for a few months, the rabbi of the Sephardi congregation in Bucharest. From 1924 he was rabbi in Turin. From 1930 he was rabbi in Tripoli for six months. He was one of the organizers of the first Italian Rabbinical Federation in 1917 and the founder and director of the S.H. Margulies Rabbinical School. Some of his pupils there later taught in Israel. The school, which was of great importance in the Jewish life of Italy and for a certain time provided the Italian Rabbinical College with pupils, was subsequently directed by his successor, Sergio Joseph Sierra, and bore the name Margulies-Disegni Rabbinical School. Disegni edited prayer books for week-days, the Sabbath, and holidays, with Italian translations and short notes. The texts are those of the communities in Milan, Rome, and Turin. Almost a century after S.D. Luzzatto's edition of the Italian text of the Bible, Disegni initiated a new Italian translation in four volumes (Turin, 1960–67), with the original text and short notes. As its editor, he obtained the collaboration of many Italian rabbis and himself contributed to the translation which met with enthusiastic approval also in non-Jewish circles. Disegni died in Turin. His writings include numerous articles in different journals and reviews. A festschrift in Italian and Hebrew was published in his honor in 1969.

bibliography:

Israel, 52 (1966/67), nos. 14, 15, 16, 17; Bolettino della Communità Israelitica di Milano, no. 6 (1966/67); R. Bonfil, in: rmi, 33 (1967), 51–61; S. Sierra, in; Miscellanea … D. Disegni (1969); G. Romano, ibid.

[Alfredo Mordechai Rabello]