Francesca Lolli

Francesca Lolli and Biblioteca Artom

Francesca Lolli, a cornerstone of our library for over twenty years, has passed away. A woman of great culture and genuine passion, she began as a regular visitor to the Artom Library and, upon retirement, chose to dedicate her time as a volunteer, generously and rigorously supporting the other members of the group.
A profound expert in Jewish culture and Israeli history, she carried out her work as a librarian with rare attention to detail: precise, reliable, always ready to share her knowledge without ever imposing. She had the gift of instilling a love of reading, sparking curiosity, and suggesting unexpected paths. Her reading recommendations were passionate and timely, capable of sparking in anyone the desire to read, to delve deeper, and to embark on paths that were not always easy.
Her silent and constant presence, her kind and affectionate gaze, benefited everyone: those entering for the first time, those returning every week, those searching for a specific title, and those with just a glimmer of insight. She welcomed, guided, suggested, and listened. She made the library an even more vibrant, more human, and more open place.
We bid her farewell with affection and gratitude.

By Rori Mancino and Lea Fubini

I knew little about Francesca. Not her age, not her relationships, not anything about her private life. Francesca almost never spoke about herself; she was one of those rare people who ask questions out of politeness, of course, but above all out of interest. She remembered everything, and when you met her again, perhaps months later, she would pick up the conversation as if nothing had happened, asking how that project you’d mentioned was going, or how her parents were doing. She was the kind, intelligent, always available librarian. She never missed an Italy-Israel meeting, and when she spoke, it wasn’t to affirm or explain, but to ask and listen. She assiduously attended the Jewish community’s cultural events and sometimes came to the Temple for the most important holidays. She made an enormous and rarely visible contribution to the community as a library volunteer, the decisive contribution of someone who gives and doesn’t ask, of someone who is simply there, available to others amidst the books. She will be missed by both the Jewish community and the Italy-Israel Association. He was one of those people who put the service they dedicate themselves to with crystalline devotion before their own individuality, and so are barely noticed while they are there; but when they are no longer there, they leave a void that is difficult, impossible to fill.

May her memory be a blessing.