Galante is the surname of a Jewish family which flourished at the beginning of the 16th century in Rome, and the head of which, Mordecai, was a Spanish exile of the Angel family. His courteous manners won for him from the Roman nobles the surname "Galantuomo" (gentleman), a name which the family retained. About this time the family settled in the Land of Israel, where it produced authors and other celebrities, among them the following: Abraham ben Mordecai Galante - (d. 1560, Italian kabbalist) Moses ben Mordecai Galante - (d. 1608, Safed) Jonathan ben Moses Galante - (17th-century rabbi at Safed) Moses ben Jonathan Galante - (1621 – 1689, Jerusalem), was the first Rishon LeZion (Sephardic chief Rabbi of Israel). Mordecai Galante - (d. 1781, chief rabbi of Damascus) Moses Galante - (d. 1806, chief rabbi of Damascus)
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