Family Sayings

Born in Palermo, Italy, to a Jewish father and Catholic mother, Natalia Ginzburg published her first novel in 1942, using the pseudonym Alessandra Tornimparte because of anti-Jewish legislation. After the death of her first husband, Leone Ginzburg, at the hands of German authorities, she remarried and converted to Catholicism, although she kept her last name and maintained a strong connection to Jewish tradition and history. After the war, Ginzburg gained prominence for her novels exploring political and familial ties in the aftermath of World War II and Italian fascism. In the 1980s, Ginzburg became involved with politics, joining the Communist Party and serving in the Italian parliament, through which she advocated for social justice and humanitarian causes.