"Il ne porte pas la chemise noire": Marc Bloch et Gino Luzzatto

Although Italian history and historiography were not at the center of Marc Bloch’s concerns, he was interested in both, particularly as the author of Feudal Society and co-editor in chief of the Annales. This article sheds light on Bloch’s relations with Italian scholars, identifying Gino Luzzatto (1878–1964)—a fellow medievalist and economic historian—as the colleague to whom Bloch felt closest, both intellectually and personally. It does so by interrogating the scarse but revealing traces of their exchanges, thus expanding existing approaches to the history of historiography. While virtually no correspondence between Bloch and Luzzatto remains, a body of indirect sources, including letters written by others, book reviews, bibliographical references, dedications, handwritten glosses, and notecards, attests to their common interests and mutual admiration. The two scholars met only once, in Venice in September 1934, but their affinity transcended academic boundaries and extended to their shared status as assimilated Jews and anti-fascists. Luzzatto was particularly drawn to Bloch’s works on the history of agriculture, technology, and land tenure, and he helped maintain their legacy and reception in Italy after World War II.