Abraham Izhak Isaac Castello

CASTELLO (CASTILHO) ISAAC "Rabbi preacher and poet born at Aucona 1726 died at Leghorn Aug 1 1789 At age of thirteen he arrived poor and destitute Leghorn where although he had previously intended to become a mechanic his agreeable induced him to prepare himself to become a cantor After the death of Adam Bondi cantor of the Jewish congregation in Leghorn whose daughter he married he became his successor He then indefatigable diligence devoted himself to the of the Hebrew and Spanish languages and to rabbinical science and was soon advanced to the of rabbi and preacher in which capacity he greatly distinguished himself that even scholars delighted to discuss with him religions philosophical topics Castello is probably the Jewish scholar with whom Lcssing conversed his scientific tour in the company of Duke of Brunswick and on hearing whom the duke said to have exclaimed in astonishment Here have one even greater than Mendelssohn of purer metaphysics" - The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Volume 3

16° figlio di Giuseppe Castello, nel 1739 viene mandato dal padre da Ancona a Livorno, dove studia e diventa rabbino, filosofo, letterato e poeta; socio con Eliezer-Lazzaro Sahadun della casa editrice Castello-Saadun.

-(Leghorn Merchant Networks – Reti Mercantili Livornesi – GeneaNet: http://gw0.geneanet.org/index.php3?b=alivornesi&lang=en;p=samuele;n...) -(THE LIVORNO NON-CATHOLIC REGISTERS’ INDEXES: Non-Catholic Civil Registers of Births in Livorno (1818-1865), in http://leghornmerchants.wordpress.com/home/sources/sources-livorno/...) --(Lea Ottolenghi e Emma de Rossi Castelli, “Nei tempi oscuri: diari di Lea Ottolenghi e Emma de Rossi Castelli: due donne ebree fra il 1943 e il 45”, Belforte, 2000) --(Ilda Castelli, “Forte come la morte è l’amore”, Livorno, Belforte 1986) -(Ilda Castelli, “Ricordi di casa Castelli”, in Michele Luzzati, “Ebrei di Livorno fra due censimenti (1841-1938): memoria familiare e identità”, F.Belforte, 1990) -(Rita Castelli, “Una testimonianza” in Michele Luzzati, “Ebrei di Livorno fra due censimenti (1841-1938): memoria familiare e identità”, F.Belforte, 1990)