OTTOLENGHI

OTTOLENGHI (Ottolengo ), Italian family of Piedmont, apparently originating in Germany, the name being an Italian form of Ettlingen. Its prominent members include: Joseph b. Nathan *Ottolenghi (d. 1570), rabbi of Cremona; samuel david b. jehiel *ottolengo (d. 1718), scholar and kabbalist, born in Casale Monferrato. abraham azariah (bonaiuto) ottolenghi (1776–1851), rabbinical scholar born in *Acqui. When the French revolutionary army entered Acqui in 1796, he gave a public address on the significance of the tree of liberty erected in Acqui, as everywhere else, as a symbol of the new era. With the defeat of the French following the battle of Novi in 1799, Abraham had to flee to Genoa. After the return of the French in 1800, he returned to Acqui, and was appointed rabbi of the community, which position he held until his death. He wrote Shir li-Khevod ha-Torah (Leghorn, 1808). nathan (donato) ottolenghi (1820–1883), the last outstanding member of the once-famous community of Acqui. On friendly terms with noted political figures of the period, including Massimo *d'Azeglio, Vincenzo Gioberti, and Cesare Balbo, he did much to better the position of both Jews and non-Jews and to improve the condition of the poor. eleazar (lazzaro) ottolenghi (1820–1890), rabbi, born in Acqui. He held rabbinical office in Turin, Moncalvo, and Acqui, settling in Rome a year before his death. Author of a number of piyyutim, he also wrote a comedy, Matrimoniomisto (1870), and Dialoghi religiosomorali (1873). In his youth, he also wrote several tragedies, one of which, Etelwige, was presented in Acqui in 1852. emilio ottolenghi (1830–1908), philanthropist, born in Acqui. In 1848 he moved to Alessandria and was elected member of the municipal council in 1882. He served as president of the community for a long period and was made a count by King Humbert i in 1883. giuseppe *ottolenghi (1838–1904), was an Italian general, minister of war in 1902–03, veteran of the Italian War of Liberation. moses jacob *ottolenghi (1840–1901) was a writer and educator. joshua (salvatore) ottolenghi (1861–1934), physician. He studied in Turin, was assistant of Cesare *Lombroso, and taught at Rome University. A pioneer in modern criminology, Ottolenghi founded (1902) the Scuola di Polizia Scientifica in Rome, the first of the kind in Italy. donato ottolenghi (1874–?1940) was professor of general pathology and hygiene at the universities of Pisa, Cagliari, and Bologna. adolfo ottolenghi (?1880–1943) served as rabbi in Venice from 1919 to 1943. During the Holocaust he was arrested by the Nazis and deported to Germany, where he perished. He was remembered in his community for his sincerity and his devotion to their needs. He wrote several historical essays, including Leon da Modena e spunti di vita ebraica del ghetto nel sec. xvii (1929) and Abraham Lattes nei suoi rapporti colla republica di Daniele Manin (1930). raffaele ottolenghi (?1887–1917), lawyer and publicist, devoted to the Jewish cause and to Zionism. He wrote Voci d'Oriente (2 vols.), a study of Oriental influences in literature and of Hebrew proselytism. mario ottolenghi (1904–1978), economist and secretary of the Italian Zionist Federation (1933–39), settled in Israel in 1938. His son michael (1934– ) was professor of physical chemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

bibliography:

Mortara, Indice, 46; E. Foa, in: Il Vessillo Israelitico, 31 (1883), 327–9, 343ff.; F. Servi, ibid., 38 (1890), 137–9; Ghirondi-Neppi, 330, 332; Roth, Italy, index; Milano, Italia, index.