Alain Elkann (born 23 March 1950) is an Italian novelist and journalist. Elkann is the host of cultural programs on Italian television. He is president of the Scientific Committee of theItaly–USA Foundation. A recurring theme in his books is thehistory of the Jews in Italy, their centrality toItalian history,[1] and the relation between the Jewish faith and other religions. He is a writer forLa Règle du Jeu,Nuovi Argomenti,A, andShalom magazines.
A member of the wealthy and influential Elkann family, he was born in New York City;[2] the family returned to Italy soon after his birth. HisItalian Jewish mother, Carla Ovazza, is from the influentialTurinese Ovazza banking family; on 26 November 1975, she was a victim of kidnapping in Turin.[3] His great-uncle,Ettore Ovazza,[4] had been an early financial supporter ofBenito Mussolini, whom he was a personal friend of, andItalian fascism,[5] which he supported until theItalian racial laws of 1938. Ettore Ovazza was also the founder of ananti-Zionist journal,La nostra bandiera. He was murdered in 1943 by the Nazis, along with the rest of his family, whose bodies were burned in a school boiler inIntra, Italy.[6] His father,Jean-Paul Elkann, was a French Jewish industrialist,[7] the chairman ofDior and the president of theIsraelite Central Consistory of France, responsible for appointing theChief Rabbis of France, from 1982 to 1992.[8]
Elkann was a collaborator of important Italian writers, such asAlberto Moravia andIndro Montanelli. He wrote novels, essays, and articles, among which are a book he co-wrote with Italian Chief RabbiElio Toaff, a former religious leader in Rome, calledHow to Be a Jew and Other Works and a book of conversation with him calledThe Messiah and the Jews (Il Messia e gli ebrei). He also published a book withMilan archbishopCarlo Maria Martini, as well as a book about Islam withPrince El Hassan bin Talal of Jordan.[9] In 2010, Elkann argued that all Jews should develop a strong connection to Israel.[10]
Since 2007, Elkann has been the president ofFondazione CittàItalia, and is also president of theAlliance française of Turin, president of Mecenate 90 (Rome), president of the scientific committee ofPalazzo Te (Mantua),[11] president of the FIAC of New York (Italian Foundation for Art and Culture), vice-president of the Fondazione Rosselli, board member of theIULM 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, and image consultant for the municipality of Milan.[12] For five years, he was counselor to theculture minister Giuliano Urbani.[13] From 2004 to 2012, he was the president of theEgyptian Museum of Turin; he was replaced byEvelina Christillin.[14]
On 16 May 2008, Elkann was appointed by the Italian government Adviser for Cultural Events and Foreign Relations to the Italian MinisterSandro Bondi.[15] He received the America Award of theItaly-USA Foundation in 2010. He was awarded theChevalier de la Légion d'Honneur in July 2009,[16] and he received the Medaille de Vermeil award from theAcadémie Française in November 2010. A journalist since 1992 and member ofLazio's Order of Journalists, he works atLa Stampa, the daily newspaper of Turin, teaches at theUniversity of Pennsylvania, and appears onLa7.[17]
In 1975, Elkann marriedMargherita Agnelli, daughter of the then president of FiatGianni Agnelli,[18] with whom he had three children; two (Lapo Elkann andJohn Elkann) were involved in their grandfather's company, with Lapo now in fashion,[19][20] while his daughter (Ginevra Elkann) is in the movie industry.[21] His children were baptized and raisedCatholic.[22] After divorcing his wife in 1981, Elkann remarried with Rosy Greco in 2002;[23] she was also Catholic.[22] They divorced in 2009.[23] In addition to his American citizenship, he has French and Italian citizenship.[2]
^Schiavazzi, Vera (18 October 2009)."Ovazza, dal Ghetto a oggi".La Repubblica (in Italian). Archived fromthe original on 29 January 2023. Retrieved22 February 2023.
^Ettore Ovazza (1892-1943), un ebreo fascista a oltranza (in Italian), Servizio Bibliotecario Nazionale.
Knight of theLegion of Honour, 4 December 2009.[24][25]
Commander of theOrder of Merit of the Italian Republic, 30 December 2020.[26]