Shamama Case
How a nineteenth-century lawsuit over the estate of a wealthy Tunisian Jew shines new light on the history of belonging
In the winter of 1873, Nissim Shamama, a wealthy Jew from Tunisia, died suddenly in his palazzo in Livorno, Italy. His passing initiated a fierce lawsuit over his large estate. Before Shamama''s riches could be disbursed among his aspiring heirs, Italian courts had to decide which...
How a nineteenth-century lawsuit over the estate of a wealthy Tunisian Jew shines new light on the history of belonging
In the winter of 1873, Nissim Shamama, a wealthy Jew from Tunisia, died suddenly in his palazzo in Livorno, Italy. His passing initiated a fierce lawsuit over his large estate. Before Shamama''s riches could be disbursed among his aspiring heirs, Italian courts had to decide which...