26th European Day of Jewish Culture

European Day of Jewish Culture in Casale Monferrato: four appointments dedicated to the "People of the Book"



Casale Monferrato, 8 September 2025 - The cultural activities in the Jewish complex of Casale Monferrato will get underway again in September. The highlight of the events in vicolo Salomone Olper will take place on Sunday 14 September to mark the 26th European Day of Jewish Culture, which is dedicated to the "People of the Book"

It is a theme which lends itself to many different variations because, starting precisely from the Torah on which it is founded, all Jewish tradition is built on the written word. The letters form both a creative force and the bricks of memory, a sign of identity and teaching for future generations. At any time and in any situation, the Jewish people have never given up on writing.



10 a.m. - Inauguration and "scopertine tipografiche"

The Community of Casale will also explore this thread in a series of multiple events which start at 10 a.m. with the official greetings of the authorities and the inauguration of the exhibition "Il gioco degli occhi - scopertine tipografiche", by the artist and designer Stefano Tonti. It is a fascinating project which investigates the expressive potential of the alphabetic characters of more or less known literary titles using intentionally minimalist media and a playful spirit, thanks also to the simple positioning of panels in the environment in the interpretation. The project was launched in 2021, as an installation in the cloister of the Gambalunga Civic Library of Rimini, which was then gathered into a book on show at the "Oggetto libro" exhibition at the ADI Design Museum of Milan in 2023. In the summer of 2022, invited by the municipal library of Carloforte, resort town of the Island of San Pietro (Sardinia), a new edition was produced and set up on the trees of the main square. This third "wandering" edition produced for the European Day of Jewish Culture 2025 by the Community of Casale Monferrato, interprets its charming historical locations, presenting only books of Jewish authors for the occasion. The exhibition is dedicated to the memory of Elio Carmi.




10:30 a.m. Jewish Casale in books and archival documents

Books will also be the topic of discussion at 10:30 a.m. at the meeting "La Bibbia rivissuta, libri e scritti ebraici a Casale Monferrato" which explores the vast bibliographic and archival collection of the Jewish Community of Casale spanning the centuries to the modern and contemporary age. A way to discover the extreme vitality of the Jewish Casale handed down to us from community registers and in the texts of synagogue rituals, also taking a look at what the archives of the non-Jewish institutions of Casale and those in Italy and internationally (Moscow, New York, Jerusalem, Oxford, Paris, Chicago) contain on the matter.

Davide Mano, historian of Judaism and CNRS Researcher at the Centre de recherches historiques of Paris, will discuss this. Historian of Italian Judaism and specialist of the first emancipation during the revolutionary and Napoleonic era, he will be presented by Claudia De Benedetti, director of the Museum of Ancient Jewish Art and History of Casale Monferrato.



4 p.m. anticipations of Hanukkah

The afternoon program begins at 4 p.m. with a moment that anticipates one of the most important events of the year in the small community of Casale: the presentation of a lamp for the Hanukkah festival made for the Jewish Museum
of Casale Monferrato by the designer Osanna Visconti di Modrone. The Italian artist is well-known for her creations in bronze made using the lost wax technique. Her works, which range from furniture to decorative items, feature a strong connection with nature and traditional craftsmanship. Her creations are often inspired by natural elements such as leaves, branches and flowers, and are sometimes finished with different patinas that enhance both beauty and texture.




4:30 p.m. music brings the event to a close

Finally, at 4:30 p.m. the event ends on a musical note. The last meeting of the event "Musica nel complesso ebraico", directed by Giulio Castagnoli will go on show in its 13th edition. A cycle of events which will see the performance of chamber music ensembles in the Synagogue involved in a repertoire of composers and pieces connected in some way with the Jewish world. The protagonist will be the Petra String Quartet formed by Gioele Pierro and Luca Madeddu - violins, Chiara Tomassetti - viola, Stefano Beltrami – cello. Narrating voice Pietro Mossa.

The program is focused on the contemporary music of composers associated with this ensemble. We will listen to "Profili sommersi per quartetto" in four movements by Franco Augelli; "Musica e fiaba: storia di un bruco per voce recitante e quartetto d'archi" by the Stefano Caputo Grey string Quartet of Costanza Pazé, "Homines contra homines (uomini contro) per quartetto" by Pietro Mossa and finally "Come una fantasia" by Giulio Castagnoli - by the Quarto Quartetto (2022) dedicated to Elio Carmi on his seventieth birthday.

All initiatives are free of charge.

For information and booking 0142 71807 www.casalebraica.com

15033 Casale Monferrato