Giovanni Bernardo De Rossi (1742 1831) first studied Hebrew in Turin as a requirement for his theology degree. Having swiftly mastered several Semitic languages and been ordained a priest, he was appointed professor of oriental languages at the University of Parma in 1769. Despite offers from Pavia, Madrid and Rome, he remained there until his death. An important collector of manuscripts and incunabula in 1785 Pius VI tried to acquire his library for the Vatican De Rossi published extensively on Hebrew typography and textual variants in the Old Testament. This 1800 catalogue of 182 Jewish...