About LECE

Illuminated page from the Book of Exodus in the Rothschild Pentateuch, Getty Museum, Ms 116, fol. 119v (France and/or Germany, 1296)

The Laboratory of Hebrew Epigraphy and Codicology (LECE), founded by Mauro Perani, is a research centre within the Department of Cultural Heritage at the University of Bologna dedicated to the study of Hebrew writings and documents. It examines all forms of texts—manuscript, printed, and epigraphic—written in Hebrew, analyzing their historical, cultural, and material dimensions.

Key Activities

The laboratory's work is focused on several key areas:

Academic Research: LECE conducts and promotes research into Hebrew manuscripts and documents, focusing on their historical, archival, codicological (book as an object), and palaeographical (writing styles) aspects.

Major Projects: It participates in prominent national and international projects, including:

  • Books within Books project, which catalogs medieval Hebrew manuscript fragments reused in book bindings across Europe.
  • BiNaH. Bibliothèque Nationale Hebraica : Manuscrits hébreux à Paris, project of the « Agence nationale de la recherche» (ANR), France, n° AAPG2021  
  • Corpus Epitaphiorum Hebraicorum Italiae, which publishes the epitaphs from Italian Jewish cemeteries.
  • The study of registers compiled by Italian Jewish communities from the 16th to the 19th centuries.

Digital Humanities: In the framework of the BwB project,  the lab is developing a website to digitize and publish online the 16,000 Hebrew fragments and folios discovered in Italy.

Promoting International Scientific Exchange: LECE organizes the Annual Italian Association for Jewish Studies (AISG) Conference.

Expert Services: LECE offers expert consultancy for the identification, dating, and restoration of Hebrew manuscripts, prints, and documents, as well as for deciphering Jewish funerary inscriptions.

Education: Each year, LECE organizes the Course in Hebrew Codicology and Palaeography in collaboration with leading French and Italian academic institutions.

Director: Prof. Emma Abate
Technical Coordinator: Dr. Enrica Sagradini