Joseph Attias

Joseph “Filalete” (“Lover of Truth”) Attias was a man of the early Italian Enlightenment who was part of both the Jewish and non-Jewish intellectual worlds. He was born to a wealthy family of New Christian origin and raised in Livorno. After a brief foray into business, Attias decided to devote his life to learning. He accumulated a large library and conversed (and corresponded) with scholars of various fields. Although he did not write any (known) books, he did leave behind a trove of correspondence with peers and scholars.