Tefillah al Hatzalat Ma’arachot Italia ve’al Yeshu’ata

When World War I broke out in the summer of 1914, Italy declared itself neutral in the conflict. However on May 23, 1915, Italy declared war on Austria-Hungary, entering World War I on the side of the Allies: Britain, France and Russia. As the title of this prayer acknowledges, Italy sought to annex the territories on its Alpine Front: The Austrian Littoral, northern Dalmatia, and the territories of present-day Trentino and South Tyrol. Italy saw its battles as the Fourth Italian War of Independence, as it completed the last stage of Italian unification. The author of this prayer, Chief Rabbi Alessandro (Elisha) da Fano (1847-1935), was a teacher of the Hebrew language and a great friend of Monsignor Achille Ratti, prefect of the Ambrosiana Library, who later became Pope Pius XI (1857-1939).