Leo Levi

Leo Levi was born in 1912 in Casale Monferrato

Leo Levi was born in 1912 in Casale Monferrato, in Piedmont, Italy. His father, Dr. Joseph Levi, was the rabbi of the local community. After his father's death, he received most of his Jewish education in Turin from his grandfather, Rabbi Giacomo Bolaffio.

He studied linguistics and musicology at the University of Turin and agriculture at the University of Bologna, where he earned a doctorate in agriculture. His plan to write a doctoral thesis on music in Italian synagogues was blocked by Fascism and rising antisemitism. He was arrested twice during his studies for subversive activities.

From the early 1930s he was active in the Zionist movement in Italy. In 1931 he founded summer camps in the Alps where young Jews learned Hebrew and about Zionism. He also helped found a Hebrew teachers' union in Italy and wrote books for learning Hebrew.

After settling in the Land of Israel, he worked in agriculture, guided young immigrants from Italy and taught in high schools. In 1953 he returned to Italy and devoted himself to Italian Jewish music, taking part in field recordings by the RAI. From 1960 to 1963 he was a research fellow at the folk music research center of the Santa Cecilia academy in Rome.

He was later a research fellow at the Jewish Music Research Centre of the Hebrew University. He died in Jerusalem in 1982. His son Joseph Levi became a rabbi in Florence, and his grandson is the director Hagai Levi.