Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Widow of Italian Jewish Artist Denies She Is Mysterious Author Elena Ferrante

The widow of a Jewish artist and doctor has denied reports that she is a mysterious Italian author who writes under the pen name Elena Ferrante.

Italian novelist and professor, Marco Santagata suggested that ‘Ferrante’ could be Marcella Marmo in a lengthy article published over the weekend in the literary supplement of the daily Corriere della Sera.

Santagata wrote that Ferrante – the author of the wildly popular Neapolitan novels that trace the friendship of two women – could be Marcella Marmo, a 69-year-old university professor in Naples. He based his guess on a close analysis of Ferrante’s books, as well as on Marmo’s biography, which bears some similarities to that of one of Ferrante’s protagonists.

Ferrante has kept her identity secret since she began publishing more than two decades ago. Marmo – who, along with her publisher, denied that she is Ferrante – was married for decades to Guido Sacerdoti, a physician, artist and political activist who also was a well known figure in the tiny Naples Jewish community and worked to promote Holocaust education.

Sacerdoti, who died in 2013, was the first Jewish child born in Naples after World War II. In a biographical note, Marmo wrote that Sacerdoti’s bris was performed by a rabbi based on a ship in the Allied fleet anchored in the Gulf of Naples. Sacerdoti was the nephew of the noted anti-fascist painter and writer Carlo Levi, and in his later years was president of a foundation dedicated to Levi’s memory and the promotion of his works.

A message from our editor-in-chief Jodi Rudoren

We're building on 127 years of independent journalism to help you develop deeper connections to what it means to be Jewish today.

With so much at stake for the Jewish people right now — war, rising antisemitism, a high-stakes U.S. presidential election — American Jews depend on the Forward's perspective, integrity and courage.

—  Jodi Rudoren, Editor-in-Chief 

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.