Sulla biografia di Šabbeṯay Donnolo

Abstract

On Šabbeṯay Donnolo’s biography

There are few milestons in the biography of Šabbeṯay Donnolo, the famous South-Italian Jewish astronomer and physician from Oria (not far from Brindisi). But these data have never received much attention, were elaborated upon only rarely, and almost never evaluated in context. This paper presents some suggestions and conjectures concerning Donnolo’s life and, among others, the possible link between the family of his grandfather, R. Yo’el, and the family of R. Julius of Oria, only known from the famous bilingual epitaph of Anna from Oria. It suggests that Yo’el and Julius are possibly the same name, if the latter is meant as a vernacular interpretation of the former. Some theories also are reconsidered concerning the possible presence of Donnolo’s relatives among the descendants of R. Amittay I of Oria, and the possible reasons for the silence about some branches of this family in the Megillat Aḥima‘aṣ.