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Palermo Journal

The former Baroque oratory known as Santa Maria del Sabato, or Holy Mary of Saturday, in the ancient Jewish quarter of Palermo, Sicily. It will soon become Palermo's first synagogue in 500 years. Credit... Gianni Cipriano for The New York Times

PALERMO, Sicily - Sicily's Jews were banished from this island in 1492, the victims of a Spanish edict that forced thousands to leave and others to convert to Roman Catholicism.

More than 500 years later, a nascent Jewish community is planting fresh roots in the Sicilian capital, reclaiming a lost, often painful, history, this time with the aid of the local diocese.

Palermo's archbishop, Corrado Lorefice, has granted the emerging community the use of an unused oratory, to be transformed into Palermo's first stable synagogue in five centuries.

And for many, it's about time.

"The Jewish community is a part of Palermo, part of its history; Jews were here for 15 centuries," said Evelyne Aouate, an Algerian-born, Parisian-raised transplant whose deepening exploration of her own roots drove the efforts to find the community a home.

Aptly enough, that home will be located in what once was known as the Giudecca, Palermo's ancient Jewish quarter. The downtown warren of yet-to-be-gentrified ramshackle buildings is filled with narrow streets whose names still recall some of that history, like Piazza Meschita, the Arabic word for both synagogues and churches, or Via dei Calderai, for the tinkers and coppersmiths whose shops have lined the street practically forever.

A few years ago, trilingual street signs - in Italian, Hebrew and Arabic - were put up as markers in the area in a nod to the city's rich past. But "the Hebrew is wrong, it's botched"- a transliteration that doesn't read right, according to Maria Antonietta Ancona, a retired anesthetist who goes by her Jewish name, Miriam. "They didn't translate, but just substituted Italian characters with the Hebrew characters, so it doesn't make sense," she said.

She should know, she began studying Hebrew 10 years ago as part of her conversion to Judaism.

Like other members of the nascent Palermo community, Ms. Ancona, who was raised as a Roman Catholic though her father was Jewish, began recovering her roots 30 years ago as part of a "pressing necessity" to embrace her Jewish identity.

The new synagogue - on the Vicolo Meschita, part of an area once occupied by Palermo's Great Synagogue - will be housed in a former Baroque oratory known as Santa Maria del Sabato, or Holy Mary of Saturday.

It is an unusual name for a church, noted Luciana Pepi, who teaches Hebrew language, culture and philosophy at the University of Palermo, and is also a convert and active member of the local Jewish community.

"Some scholars have hypothesized that the name might be related to the memory of the celebration of Shabbat," the weekly Jewish day of rest, she said.

On a recent spring morning, Ms. Pepi, Ms. Ancona and Ms. Aouate - who spearheaded the efforts to open a synagogue - fussed at the entrance to the oratory, fumbling with a padlock on a cast-iron gate. Using an oversize key, with some effort, they finally opened a tall, paneled wood door.

The three women paused at the entrance, taking in a softly lit nave, where dilapidated wooden seats and peeling yellow paint betrayed decades of neglect. The ornate altar was still in the apse, but sundry statues and crucifixes had already been removed.

"Here it is!" said Ms. Aouate, her happiness palpable. "It's beautiful, but there is still a lot to do."

That includes reacquainting Palermo citizens with a history that many didn't even know they had.

For many years "history books skipped over the city's Jewish presence, as if trying to cancel it," Ms. Ancona said. Ms. Pepi added: "Palermo didn't know its own history."

That has been changing, mostly as a result of Ms. Aouate and a small group of enthusiasts, including Catholics, who 25 years ago founded the Sicilian Institute for Jewish Studies, dedicated to recovering the island's Jewish identity.

"A little at a time we are trying to renew that memory," Ms. Aouate said.

Scholarship, too, has filled in many of the missing blanks of Sicily's Jewish past.

Documents show that Jews were in Sicily at least since the first century A.D., and remained on the island until the 1492 edict. At one point, there were 51 communities here, Palermo being the largest and most important.

Historians say the edict affected at least 35,000 Sicilian Jews, including at least 5,000 in Palermo. Some Jews decided to stay, converting to Catholicism against their will. Some - known here as Marranos - continued to practice Judaism in secret.

Palermo's municipal archives - whose late-19th-century grand hall may have been inspired by the Great Synagogue - recently exhibited mementos of more recent affronts to Sicily's Jews.

They included documents from the years following Mussolini's 1938 racial laws, showing how the city's Jews were unceremoniously fired from jobs at the local university and City Hall, in order to "defend the Italian race," one document read.

It took time for the community to rebuild.

"I first arrived here in 1959, and for 20 years I thought I was the only Jew in Palermo," Ms. Aouate said. Over the years, she met other Jews and in time her elegant Palermo apartment became a point of reference for the community during the holidays.

The number of Jews currently living in Palermo remains unclear. "It depends, because if you think of all the people born of a Jewish mother or a Jewish father, then it's numerous," but not everyone considers themselves Jewish, she said.

Until now, in any case, there haven't been enough men to form a regular minyan, the quorum of 10 or more adult male Jews required for communal worship, as is the case in Orthodoxy, the only recognized Jewish stream in Italy.

Dedicated tourism may change that because Palermo offers various Jewish sites around town, some harboring signs of past suffering.

A mikvah, or Jewish ritual bath, was found below the courtyard of Palazzo Marchesi, which in the 16th century housed the offices of the Inquisition.

Later, between 1601 and 1782, the Palazzo Chiaramonte-Steri - today part of the University of Palermo - served as the prison and tribunal of the Inquisition. Its walls preserve the anguished scratched scrawls of past inmates, including some in Hebrew.

Just over three years ago, Hanukkah candles began to be lighted at Palazzo Steri, a tangible sign of the university and the city's commitment to the Jewish community.

The community's spiritual leader, the Rabbi Pierpaolo Pinhas Punturello, who is an emissary of Shavei Israel, an organization based in Jerusalem that assists those searching for their Jewish heritage, said that he had noticed a growing interest in the Jewish heritage of Sicily and other parts of southern Italy.

"Every time I go there I meet new people curious about their origins, who want to explore them," the rabbi said.

The synagogue was the natural next step and in June last year, Ms. Aouate, Ms. Pepi and Ms. Ancona asked the archbishop whether an unused church might be available.

Three weeks later, Archbishop Lorefice called to offer the oratory.

The Rev. Pietro Magro, who is responsible for interreligious dialogue for the archdiocese of Palermo, said that the archbishop had been pleased to reach out to the community in their search for a place of prayer.

"The church of the Virgin of the Saturday seemed right because it's in the Jewish quarter, and we hope it will be ready soon," Father Magro said.

The restoration is expected to begin shortly; the city will cover most of the costs. The community has another long list of expenses, from the ark for the Torah scrolls to a sophisticated security system, Ms. Aouate said. "And we would like a beautiful Menorah!"

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500 Years After Expulsion, Sicily's Jews Reclaim a Lost History (Published 2017)

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Palermo Journal PALERMO, Sicily - Sicily's Jews were banished from this island in 1492, the victims of a Spanish edict that forced thousands to leave and others to convert to Roman Catholicism. More than 500 years later, a nascent Jewish community is planting fresh roots in the Sicilian capital, reclaiming a lost, often painful, history, this time with the aid of the local diocese.

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Prayers with an Italian flavor in Jerusalem

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An early 18th century Rococo synagogue last used in Italy in World War I, it was reconstructed in Israel in 1952 and has since formed the heart of Jerusalem's Italian-Jewish community, according to Gilad Levian, director of the U. Nahon Museum of Italian Jewish Art in which this architectural gem is housed.

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Jewish wedding music in Italy - Musica Matrimonio Ebraico

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www.klezmer.altervista.org Jewish Music Band Italy - musica matrimonio ebraico

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Walking Tour into Jewish Ghetto Rome  2016

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Walking Tour into Jewish Ghetto Rome 2016 The Roman Ghetto or Ghetto of Rome, Italian: Ghetto di Roma, was a Jewish ghetto established in 1555 in the Rione Sant'Angelo, in Rome, Italy, in the area surrounded by present-day Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progresso and Via di Santa Maria del Pianto, close to the River Tiber and the Theatre of Marcellus.

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More info about travel to Rome: http://www.ricksteves.com/europe/italy/rome In this video, we'll take a trip to Rome's Jewish Quarter, one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe. At http://www.ricksteves.com, you'll find money-saving travel tips, small-group tours, guidebooks, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, and more on this destination.

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The Servi family traces its roots in Italy back nine generations, but the British historian Cecil Roth says they probably go back to A.D. 70, when the Second Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem. Mr. Roth, who wrote ''History of the Jews in Italy,'' bases his conjecture on the family name, Servi, which means ''servants'' in Italian; Emporer Titus carried the temple servants, called Levis in Hebrew, from Israel to Rome as slaves.

Mrs. Machlin's father and grandfather were rabbis. ''I come from a very religious household, though I am not very religious,'' she said. ''I express my religion culturally. It's very important to me to keep up traditions. If not, slowly you become assimilated and your children marry non-Jews and pretty soon it is all gone.''

A fine cook who says her mother and father were also excellent cooks, Mrs. Machlin has recorded the largely unfamiliar cooking of her people in ''The Classic Cuisine of the Italian Jews'' (Everest House, $19.95). The recipes she demonstrated for an Italian Passover seder at Anna Teresa Callen's cooking school in Greenwich Village are taken from the book.

For her own seder a week from today Mrs. Machlin will have to make some adjustments because her guests include a rabbi who follows the Eastern European tradition. He will be there with his Italian-born wife and their two children, as well as a friend of a mutual friend and two elderly members of Mrs. Machlin's synagogue in Croton-on-Hudson who otherwise would have no place to go. ''It wouldn't be a holiday if there were just four of us,'' she said.

For the cooking demonstration Mrs. Machlin had made a chicken soup with rice and chicken balls. For the actual seder she will make Italian-style matzoh-ball soup because, by custom, Eastern European Jews do not eat rice during Passover. The matzoh balls are made with olive oil instead of chicken fat, Mrs. Machlin said, explaining: ''We never used chicken fat in Italy. Our chickens were too thin.''

The lamb loaves at the demonstration, made with meat from the leg, will be replaced by a dish of lamb, chicken balls and spinach. Eastern European Jews do not eat leg of lamb at any time. On the other hand, Italian Jews do not eat chocolate, milk or cheese during Passover, but the Ashkenazim do.

The matzoh is the same, though Mrs. Machlin's Italian version is far more artistic than the conventional -oval-shaped, with holes that make each piece look like fancy grillwork.

Mrs. Machlin has also created her own version of charoses, the symbol of the mortar the Israelites used in building the Pharoah's pyramids. When she was a child in Italy it was made with vinegar, sugar and matzoh meal; now she concocts a deliciously sweet one of dates, apples, oranges, bananas, walnuts, Malaga wine and spices that is an excellent accompaniment to any savory meat dish. The Eastern European version combines apples, walnuts, wine and spices.

The only time most Jews are likely to have eaten the vegetable dish Mrs. Machlin will serve, carciofi alla Guidia, or artichokes Jewish style, is on a visit to Italy. A famous restaurant in the Roman ghetto, called Piperno's and once owned by Jews, attracts tourists to sample the dish, calling for baby artichokes, which are without chokes and are difficult to find in America. Mrs. Machlin has worked out a time-consuming technique for using regular artichokes by peeling off a significant portion of the outer, tough leaves and removing the choke.

Jews who are used to dry, tasteless sponge cakes for Passover will be delighted with Mrs. Machlin's light and relatively moist nut torte. Kookoo Sabzi (Spinach and green herb pie) 3 cups chopped spinach leaves 2 cups chopped parsley 3/4 cup chopped dill 6 scallions, with white and green portions chopped 1/4 cup chopped cilantro (optional) 1 tablespoon corn or other light vegetable oil 1/2 to 2/3 cup matzoh meal, or as needed 3 to 4 extra large eggs, or as needed 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Combine first five ingredients in mixing bowl. Add oil and 1/2 cup matzoh meal. Stir in three eggs. Mix well with wooden spoon. Consistency should be fairly thick but slightly runny; mixture should drop in mass from tablespoon and just a little liquid should be visible. Add additional egg and/or matzoh meal, if needed, to attain that texture.

3. Spread thin film of oil over bottom and sides of baking dish that measures about 8 by 11 by 1 1/2 inches. Turn in egg mixture and smooth top with back of spoon.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 35 minutes, or until pie is completely set and slightly shrunken away from sides of dish. 5. Serve hot or cold. Yield: 8 to 10 servings as a side dish. Choresh Qormeh Sabzi (Green herb stew)

2 1/2 to 3 pounds lean beef chuck About 3/4 cup corn oil 2 large onions, sliced thin 1 medium-size leek 3 cups freshly chopped spinach leaves 2 cups freshly chopped parsley 3/4 cup fresh dill, chopped 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (optional) 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, or to taste Lemon juice, optional and to taste Garnish: steamed white rice.

1. Beef should be trimmed of fat and cut in 1-to-1 1/2-inch cubes. 2. Heat half of oil in 2 1/2-to-3-quart Dutch oven or other stew pot and add onions. Saute over very low heat until just slightly brown. Add beef and stir with onions. Add half salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer gently but steadily over low heat for about 2 hours. Stir at intervals to prevent scorching and check to be sure there is enough liquid, adding water only if necessary.

3. While beef is cooking, prepare greens. Wash leek thoroughly and chop white and green portions separately. 4. Heat remaining oil in deep skillet or wide saucepan and add white portion of leek. Saute gently over moderate heat for about 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Add green portion of leek and saute for another 5 minutes, or until it begins to soften. Leeks should not take on color. Add chopped spinach and saute for 5 minutes, then parsley and saute for 5 minutes. Add cilantro and saute for 5 minutes and then dill. Saute for 5 minutes. By this time mixture should be reduced to a near sauce but should still be bright green. Set aside.

5. When meat is thoroughly cooked, stir in green sauce and reheat together for about 5 minutes before serving. Adjust seasonings, adding lemon juice to taste.

6. If prepared in advance, green sauce can be added to cooked beef and they can be reheated together before serving. Serve stew spooned over steamed rice.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings NOTE: This stew can also be made with lamb or veal, using stewing cuts such as shoulder. VARIATION: If not prepared for Passover, this stew can be seasoned with cumin, turmeric, powdered mustard and other curry spices. At other times of year Mrs. Amini also adds 1/2 cup large dried lima beans to beef as it starts to cook. Choresh Bademjon (Meat and eggplant goulash) 1 large ripe eggplant Coarse salt 2 large onions, sliced thin 2 1/2 to 3 pounds lean chuck beef cut in 1-to-1 1/2-inch cubes 1/2 cup corn oil 2 teaspoons salt, or to taste 1/2 teaspoon white pepper, to taste 3 ripe, peeled plum tomatoes (optional) 1 8-ounce can tomato sauce Garnish: steamed white rice.

1. Peel eggplant and cut lengthwise into slices about 3/4-inch thick. Sprinkle with coarse salt and let stand at room temperature for about 1 hour, or until brown juices drain off. Set aside.

2. Pat slices dry. Heat 1/4 cup oil in 2 1/2-to-3-quart Dutch oven or stewpot and in it gently saute onions over moderate heat until they are soft and bright golden brown. Stir in meat and add half of salt and pepper. Cover and simmer gently over moderate heat for about 2 hours, or until meat is completely tender. Stir frequently to prevent scorching and add water only if cooking liquid evaporates.

3. While meat cooks and when eggplant slices have drained, pat them dry and fry gently in single layer in remaining oil in skillet. Turn eggplant slices so that each side is light golden brown and is tender. Eggplant should be done in about 7 minutes. Set aside.

4. If fresh tomatoes are used, add them half an hour before the beef is finished cooking. Add tomato sauce 15 minutes before end of cooking time.

5. Five or 10 minutes before serving, lay eggplant slices over top of beef and reheat together. Adjust seasonings. Serve spooned over steamed rice.

NOTEThis can also be prepared with lamb or veal, using stewing cuts such as shoulder. VARIATIONS: If not prepared for Passover, this stew can be seasoned with cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, powdered mustard and other curry spices. Two cloves of peeled garlic can also be added as beef begins to cook.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings. Almond Macaroons 4 whites of extra large eggs 1 1/2 cups unblanched almonds 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 10 almonds, blanched and sliced in vertical quarters.

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Combine egg whites, unblanched almonds and sugar and grind, using fine blade of meat grinder or food processor. Mixture should be fairly thick and fine and should drop off spoon in a mass.

3. Drop rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between them. Top each with slice of blanched almond. 4. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until cookies turn pale brown. Remove from pan when cool. Yield: About 2 dozen cookies. Walnut cookies 4 yolks of extra large eggs 8 tablespoons granulated sugar 3 1/2 cups coarsely chopped walnuts Grated rind of 1 lemon (optional).

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. 2. Beat egg yolks with sugar until very thick and almost white. 3. Mix chopped walnuts and lemon rind into yolk mixture. 4. Drop teaspoonfuls of batter onto ungreased cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches between them. 5. Bake for about 10 minutes or until cookies are dry and firm. 6. Remove from sheet when cool. Yield: About 40 cookies.

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The Servi family traces its roots in Italy back nine generations, but the British historian Cecil Roth says they probably go back to A.D. 70, when the Second Temple was destroyed in Jerusalem.

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How Jews Changed Italian Cooking Forever

While living in Spain, this writer presented her Spanish hosts with a cookbook illustrating the Jewish and Arab roots of Andalusian cooking. Particularly in Spain, land of jamón, it can be hard to imagine a flurry of Semitic chefs, but across Western Europe Jews have often influenced the cooking of their countrymen by making modest changes to standard fare and importing foods from their most recent port of call. The latest surprise in Jewish culinary history? The delicious mash-up of pasta, eggplant and kosher salami that is Jewish Italian cuisine.

Sephardic Jews from Libya, Tunisia and Iran brought flavors of artichokes, lemon, apricots, and other delicacies to the already produce-rich diet of regions like Tuscany. Innovation was key: where favorite Italian snacks, like prosciutto, chafed against Jewish observance, Italian Jews were ready with a fail-safe, delicious dupe: goose prosciutto. And pasta on Sabbath afternoon despite not using electricity? Just leave some ruota di farone on the hot plate, no problem.

Italy's already small Jewish population dwindled during the Holocaust, but chefs like Joyce Goldstein in Cucina Ebraica: Flavors of the Italian Jewish Kitchen and of course Joan Nathan have helped to revive their delicious contributions for American cooks. So don't just stand there: fry a carciofo already.

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About the Author

Leah Falk is from Pittsburgh. She earned an M.F.A. from the University of Michigan, and her poems can be found in issues of FIELD, Kenyon Review, Smartish Pace, and other journals. She has also written for Haaretz, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Jewish Daily Forward, and is the founder and editor of MFA Day Job, a blog featuring writers who make a living outside of academe. She likes strong women, bagels, and lakes.

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How Jews Changed Italian Cooking Forever

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How Jews Changed Italian Cooking Forever While living in Spain, this writer presented her Spanish hosts with a cookbook illustrating the Jewish and Arab roots of Andalusian cooking.

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Apart from France, established Jewish populations exist in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland. With the original medieval populations wiped out by the Black Death and the pogroms that followed it, the current Dutch and Belgian communities originate in the Jewish expulsion from Spain and Portugal, while a Swiss community was only established after emancipation in 1874. However, the vast majority of the population in the Netherlands and a large proportion of the one in Belgium were killed in the Holocaust, and much of the modern Jewish population of these countries (as well as of Switzerland) derives from post-Holocaust arrivals from other parts of Europe. Here is a list of some prominent Sephardi Jews in western Europe, arranged by country of origin.

Chantal Akerman (born 1950), director-screenwriter

Saul Akkemay, publicist-journalist

Zora Arkus-Duntov, father of the Chevrolet Corvette (Belgian-born)

Gérard Blitz, Olympic water polo medallist, co-founder of Club Med

François Englert, Nobel Prize laureate in theoretical physics

Leopold Flam, philosopher

Louis Franck, politician

Diane von Fürstenberg, fashion designer

Jean Gol, politician

Nico Gunzburg, professor

Camille Gutt, finance minister; head of the International Monetary Fund

Paul Hymans, liberal leader; president of the League of Nations

René Kalisky, writer

Julien Klener, linguist

George Koltanowski, chess player

Claude Lévi-Strauss, anthropologist (Belgian-born; atheist of Jewish descent)

Alfred Lowenstein, financier (Jewish mother)

Ernest Mandel, marxist theorist

Bob Mendes, writer (Jewish father)

Chaim Perelman, philosopher (Polish-born)

Ilya Prigogine, chemist (Russian-born), Nobel Prize (1977)

Henry Spira, animal rights activist

Elias M. Stein, mathematician (Belgian-born)

Marc Schlomo Jizchak Stern, Orthodox rabbi, cantor (de)

Gilbert Stork, chemist

Olivier Strelli, fashion designer

Guy Lee Thys, film director (Jewish mother)

Raymond van het Groenewoud, singer-songwriter (Jewish mother)

Sandra Wasserman, tennis player

William Annyas, Mayor of Youghal

Henri Bergson, philosopher (Anglo-Irish mother)

Agnes Bernelle, entertainer

Robert Briscoe, member of the Irish Republican Army during the Anglo-Irish War and Irish Civil War, and twice Lord Mayor of Dublin, in 1956 and 1961

Ben Briscoe T.D., Lord Mayor of Dublin in 1988 (and son of Robert)

Daniel Day-Lewis, actor (Jewish mother)

Gerald Goldberg, Lord Mayor of Cork

Chaim Herzog, Israeli president

Yitzhak HaLevi Herzog, first Chief Rabbi of Ireland (and father of Chaim)

Sir Otto Jaffe, Lord Mayor of Belfast 1899 and 1904

Immanuel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of Ireland between 1949 and 1958 and later British Chief Rabbi

Isaac Leon Kandel

Louis Lentin, director of documentary films, television and theatre

David Marcus, author, editor, broadcaster and lifelong supporter of Irish-language fiction

Daniel Radcliffe, actor (Jewish mother, Northern Irish father)

Alan Shatter, Fine Gael politician

Mervyn Taylor, former Irish Labour Party politician

Political figures

Alessandro d'Ancona (1835-1914), 1904 Senator and 1906 mayor of Pisa

Emanuele Fiano (born 1963), politician

Vittorio Foa (1910-2008), socialist trade unionist

Alessandro Fortis (1842-1909), Italian Prime Minister (1905-1906)

Anna Kuliscioff (1857-1925), Russian-born revolutionary feminist

Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012), scientist and Senator

Luigi Luzzatti (1841-1927), Italian Prime Minister (1910-1911)

Ernesto Nathan (1848-1921), mayor of Rome (1907-1913)

Margherita Sarfatti (1880-1961), journalist and mistress of Benito Mussolini

Claudio Treves (1869-1933), politician and writer, grandfather of Carlo Levi

Leone Wollemborg (1859-1932), politician and former Minister of Economy

Religious and communal leaders

Samuel Aboab (1610-1694), prominent rabbi

Aaron ben Gershon Abu Al-Rabi or Aronne Abulrabi of Catania (ca. 1400-1450), rabbinic scholar, cabalist and astrologer; called also Aldabi or Alrabi, Aaron was "the first Jew in the history to be invited during a Pontificate to discuss freely and without censorship about religious subjects and papal perplexities; Pope Martin V welcomed him in Rome

Barbara Aiello, American-born rabbi active in Italy

Benjamin Artom (1835-1879), Haham of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews of Great Britain

Umberto Cassuto (1883-1951), rabbi

Abraham Isaac Castello (1726-1789), rabbi

Leone Ebreo (1465-1523), Neoplatonic philosopher

Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746), rabbi, scholar, mystic, also known as Ramchal

Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), important rabbi and scholar, also known as Shadal

Raphael Meldola (1754-1828), rabbi

David Nieto (1654-1728), rabbi

Riccardo Pacifici (1904-1943), rabbi

Joseph Pardo (1561-1619), rabbi

Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno (1475-1550), rabbi, philosopher

Elio Toaff (1915-2015), rabbi and former Chief of Italian Jews Community

Isaiah di Trani (ca. 1180-1250), talmudist, rabbi, also known as RID

Emilio Artom (1888-1952), mathematician

pedigree of Azzopardi

Faraj ben Salim, Sicilian physician and translator from Agrigento

Mosé Bonavoglia de' Medici, or Bonavoglio de' Medici (died 1447), Sicilian physician from Messina and Dienchelele (Naggid or Dayan kelali = Universal Judge of Sicilian Jews); his Hebrew name was Moses Hefez

Michele Besso (1873-1955), Swiss-born engineer

Caecilius of Calacte, Sicilian rhetorician from modern Caronìa

Eugenio Calabi (born 1923), mathematician

Laura Capón (1907-1977), physicist; married to non-Jew Enrico Fermi

Guido Castelnuovo (1865-1952), mathematician

Enrico Castelnuovo, art historian and medievalist

Federigo Enriques (1871-1946), mathematician

Gino Fano (1871-1952), mathematician

Robert Fano (1917-2016), physicist

Guido Fubini (1879-1943), mathematician

Carlo Ginzburg (born 1939), historian

Giovanni Jona-Lasinio (born 1932), physicist (Jewish father)

Alberto Jori (born 1965), philosopher (Jewish mother)

Beppo Levi (1875-1961), mathematician

Tullio Levi-Civita (1873-1941), mathematician

Giorgio Levi della Vida (1886-1961), linguist specialized in semitic languages

Rita Levi-Montalcini (1909-2012), neurologist, Nobel Prize (1986)

Cesare Lombroso (1835-1909), criminologist

Salvador Luria (1912-1991), microbiologist, Nobel Prize (1969)

Samuel David Luzzatto (1800-1865), scholar and poet

Sergio Luzzatto (born 1965), historian

Franco Modigliani (1918-2003), economist, Nobel Prize (1985)

Attilio Momigliano, literary critic, Dante scholar

Bruno Pontecorvo (1913-1993), physicist

Guido Pontecorvo (1907-1999), geneticist

Giulio Racah (1909-1965), physicist

Bruno Rossi (1905-1993), astrophysicist

Asher Salah (born 1967), historian

Beniamino Segre (1903-1977), mathematician

Cesare Segre (1928-2014), linguistics, semiotics

Corrado Segre (1863-1924), mathematician

Emilio Segrè (1905-1989), physicist, Nobel Prize (1959)

pedigree of Sforno

Piero Sraffa (1898-1983), economist

Manfredo Tafuri (1935-1994), architectural historian, critic and theorist

Ariel Toaff (born 1942), historian

Andrew Viterbi (born 1935), inventor of the Viterbi algorithm

Vito Volterra (1860-1940), mathematician

Bruno Zevi (1918-2000), architectural critic and historian

Mario Ancona (1860-1931), baritone

Abramo Basevi (1818-1885), composer and musician

Alvise Bassano, musician

Baptista Bassano, musician

Haim Cipriani (born 1961), violinist and reform rabbi

Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco (1895-1968), guitar, classical and synagogal music composer

Lorenzo Da Ponte (born Emanuele Conegliano, 1749-1838), opera librettist (born Jewish, raised Catholic)

Abramo dall'Arpa (died 1566), harpist

Abramino dall'Arpa (fl ca. 1577-1593), harpist

Aldo Finzi (1897-1945), composer

Salamone Rossi (ca. 1570-1630), baroque composer

Victor de Sabata (1892-1967), conductor (Jewish mother)

Leone Sinigaglia (1868-1944), composer

Devorà Ascarelli, poet and translator

Giorgio Bassani, author

Angela Bianchini, fiction writer

Riccardo Calimani, fiction writer and historian

Enrico Castelnuovo, father of Guido

Moses Chayyim Catalan, poet

Lorenzo Da Ponte (b. Emanuele Conegliano), opera librettist (born Jewish, raised Catholic)

Leonardo de Benedetti, physician and writer

Manuela Dviri, writer

Alain Elkann, writer and journalist, father of John, Lapo and Ginevra

Carlo Ginzburg, historian, writer, essayst and pioneer of microhistory

Leone Ginzburg, writer (born in Ukraine)

Natalia Ginzburg (b. Levi), author (Jewish father), wife of Leone and mother of Carlo

Arrigo Levi, writer, journalist and TV anchorman

Carlo Levi, writer, painter and physician

Primo Levi, chemist and author

Carlo Michelstaedter, philosopher

Lisa Morpurgo Dordoni, writer, astrologer

Paolo Mieli, journalist, historian and director of Corriere della Sera

Liana Millu, writer

Alberto Moravia (b. Pincherle), author (Jewish father)

Laura Orvieto, writer

Alessandro Piperno, writer

Umberto Saba, poet (Jewish mother)

Rubino Romeo Salmonì, writer

Roberto Saviano, writer, journalist (Jewish mother)

Clara Sereni, writer

Italo Svevo (b. Schmitz), author

Vito D'Ancona, painter

Cristiana Capotondi, actress (half Jewish)

Gioele Dix (b. Davide Ottolenghi), actor and comedian

Ginevra Elkann, film director, sister of John and Lapo

Arnoldo Foà, actor

Massimiliano Fuksas, architect (Jewish father)

Vittorio Gassman, actor (Jewish mother)

Alessandro Haber, actor

Carlo Levi, writer, painter and physician

Emanuele Luzzati, painter

Gabriele Levy, sculptor

Anna Magnani, actress (Jewish mother)

Amedeo Modigliani, painter and sculptor

Ernesto Nathan Rogers, architect, critic and editor

Moni Ovadia, theatre figure

Gillo Pontecorvo, director

Xenia Rappoport, actress

Bruno Zevi, architect

Carlo De Benedetti (born 1934), industrialist, ex-CEO of FIAT, Olivetti, CIR Group, ex-deputy chairman of Banco Ambrosiano and ex-president of Gruppo Editoriale L'Espresso

John (born 1976) and Lapo Elkann (born 1977), Vice Chairman of Fiat (Jewish father)

Adriano Goldschmied (born 1944), fashion designer known as the "godfather of denim" who created Diesel, Replay, and AG Adriano Goldschmied; currently directing Goldsign and men's Citizens of Humanity

Moses Haim Montefiore (1784-1885), financier and philanthropist

Adriano Olivetti (1901-1960), son of Camillo, industrialist and social activist

Camillo Olivetti (1868-1943), founder of Olivetti typewriters

Eugenio Calò (1906-1944), Jewish partisan awarded the Gold Medal for Military Valour

Angelo Donati (1885-1960), banker who protected Jews in Southern France during Italian occupation in 1942-43

Mario Finzi (1913-1945), partisan (died in Auschwitz in 1945)

Camila Giorgi (born 1991), tennis player

Gad Lerner (born 1954), TV anchorman and journalist

Giorgio Liuzzi (1895-1983), Chief of the Staff of the Italian Army from 1954 to 1959

Renato Mannheimer (born 1947), pollster, president of IPSO

Maurizio Molinari (born 1964), journalist and essayist

Edgardo Mortara (1851-1940), boy kidnapped by Catholic Papal authorities

Fiamma Nirenstein (born 1945), essayist, journalist and MP for PDL (elected in 2008)

Enzo Sereni (1905-1944), zionist and partisan

Switzerland

Maurice Abravanel, conductor

Jeff Agoos, US soccer international

Ernest Bloch, composer

Felix Bloch, physicist, Nobel Prize (1952)

Alain de Botton, writer

Albert Cohen, novelist

Arthur Cohn, film producer

Ruth Dreifuss, Swiss president (1999)

Camille and Henri Dreyfus, inventors of Celanese

Al Dubin, lyricist

Jean Dunand-Gotscho, sculptor, painter, lacquerer

Albert Einstein, physicist, Nobel Prize (1921)

Edmond Fischer, biochemist, Nobel Prize (1992) (Jewish father)

Robert Frank, photographer

Meyer Guggenheim, businessman

Jeanne Hersch, philosopher

Frank Key, writer

Mathilde Krim, AIDS researcher (convert)

Rolf Liebermann, Swiss music administrator and composer

Meret Oppenheim, surrealist artist

Rachel, stage actress (Swiss-born)

Tadeus Reichstein, chemist, Nobel Prize (1950)

Edmond Safra, banker

Jean Starobinski, literary critic

Sigismond Thalberg, pianist and composer

Regina Ullmann, poet

Charles Weissmann, biochemist

United Kingdom

John Bercow, Speaker of the House of Commons

Leon Brittan, Conservative Member of Parliament and Home Secretary

Benjamin Disraeli, British Conservative Prime Minister; converted to Anglicanism at age 12

Greville Janner, Labour Member of Parliament

Tim Judah, journalist and historian

Peter Mandelson, Labour Member of Parliament

David Miliband, politician, Labour Party (UK)

Ed Miliband, politician, Labour Party (UK)

Jacob Rothschild, banker

Elyakim Schlesinger, rabbi

^ Of the 12 members of the 1928 Olympics Dutch Women's Gymnastics Team - the first ever women's gymnastics gold medalists - five were Jewish. All but Levie were murdered in the Holocaust.

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Apart from France, established Jewish populations exist in the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland. With the original medieval populations wiped out by the Black Death and the pogroms that followed it, the current Dutch and Belgian communities originate in the Jewish expulsion from Spain and Portugal, while a Swiss community was only established after emancipation in 1874.

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Aaron ben Gershon abu al-Rabi, an important Rabbi

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Aaron ben Gershon abu al-Rabi, an important Rabbi

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Aaron ben Gershon abu al-Rabi | Wikiwand

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Aaron ben Gershon Abu Al-Rabi of Catania was a Sicilian-Jewish scholar, cabalist, and astrologer of the 15th century.

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Benvenida Abravanel- a wealthy Jewish woman

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Benvenida Abravanel- a wealthy Jewish woman

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Benvenida Abravanel was one of the most influential and wealthiest Jewish women of early modern Italy. Her family life, however, was wracked by strife. The sources about her include literary praise of her and her family, references to her in the travel diary of the messianic pretender David Reuveni (d. c. 1538), rabbinic discussions about her husband Samuel's will in which he made her the main heir and executrix, and many archival materials, not all of which have as yet been studied.

The year and place of Benvenida's birth remain uncertain. She was the daughter of Jacob Abravanel (d. 1528), who was one of the two brothers of Isaac Abravanel (1437-1508), the Spanish Jewish exegete, philosopher and statesman. Isaac had three sons, the youngest of whom, Samuel (1473-1547), married Benvenida, though it is not clear where or when. Thus, she married her first cousin and was both the niece and the daughter-in-law of Isaac Abravanel. She brought into her marriage a very large dowry. By 1492, Benvenida and much of the family, perhaps after a stop in Portugal, had settled in Naples, where first her father and then her husband, referred to as the king of the Jews, became the leaders of the Jewish community.

While the number of her children, their dates of birth and their names are not yet known with certainty Benvenida raised not only her own children, who probably numbered three boys and three girls, but also an illegitimate son of Samuel's. In his will Samuel left to his eldest son, fictitiously called Reuven in the rabbinic texts, additional gifts due to his birthright. He then addressed "Benjamin," his illegitimate son, explicitly called "natural" or "bastard," who may have been born to a mistress after Samuel's marriage to Benvenida, rather than to a previous wife, as most histories claim. Thus the illegitimate son was not necessarily the eldest. According to the terms of Samuel's will this son was to live with the family and a contemporary notarial document refers to Benvenida in Latin as his step-mother. Similarly, because some of the rabbinic texts about Samuel's will refer to three sons, legitimate and natural, from his wife and descendants from her sons, it is possible that she had children from a different father. The actual names of the boys were Jacob, Judah (Leone), Isaac (Rafanellum)-usually identified as the illegitimate son-and possibly one more. Of the girls, the names Gioia and Letizia are known. For much of their lives, the brothers Jacob and Judah seem to have worked together as a team. For example, in November 1547, after Samuel had died, Jacob and Judah together repurchased an expensive manuscript copy of Maimonides' Mishneh Torah which had once been in the possession of their grandfather, Isaac Abravanel.

When Reuveni wrote about his trip to Portugal, he mentioned, without indicating who the father was, that Benvenida had a daughter in Lisbon who had a son and a daughter. Benvenida's daughter fasted every day and her children fasted on Mondays and Thursdays. Reuveni found it difficult to put into words how venerable Benvenida's daughter was, mentioning that she was engaged in charitable and righteous deeds. Her fasting and her residence in post-expulsion Portugal make it likely that this unnamed daughter was a crypto-Jew.

Although King Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516), who ruled Naples at this time, was not successful in establishing the Inquisition there in 1504, Jews were required to wear a badge, and in 1510 an edict of expulsion was issued for the Jews of Naples that went into effect in 1511. An exception to the edict of expulsion was made for two hundred families, who included the Abravanels, in exchange for the payment of a large sum. In 1520, Naples was under the rule of Charles V (1500-1558), Holy Roman Emperor, Hapsburg Emperor and King of Spain, who issued privileges for the Jews of Naples but continued to work towards their expulsion.

Don Pedro de Toledo, who would become the Viceroy of the Spanish rulers of Naples in 1532, had his second daughter Eleonora (Leonora) de Toldedo (1522-1562) raised in Benvenida's house. Later in life Eleonora honored Benvenida and called her "mother." Despite all the reports available in primary sources about the relationship between Benvenida and Eleonora, several modern writers allege that it was Samuel the skillful scholar who was Eleonora's teacher.

Benvenida's accomplishments in Naples became known around the world. When Reuveni was in Alexandria and Jerusalem in 1523, he heard that she fasted every day, ransomed captives-at least a thousand-and was known for her charitable generosity towards all who sought her aid.

In 1524-1525, Benvenida became an enthusiastic supporter of Reuveni although it is not clear how they became acquainted or whether they ever met in person. When he was in Rome, she sent him money three times. When Reuveni was delayed traveling to Portugal-where the Jews had been converted by force in 1497-he stayed in Pisa for seven months at the house of Yehiel of Pisa. On the frequent great fast days he was attended by the women of the household, who included Yehiel's wife Diamente, his mother Laura, and his grandmother Sarah, who presented Reuveni with several presents. The women came to his room to comfort him and dance for him, to which he objected. Though she does not appear among this group of learned women supporters of Reuveni, Benvenida sent him an ancient silk banner with the ten commandments written with gold on both sides. She also sent him a Turkish gown of gold which he was to wear for her sake.

In 1533 another expulsion, initiated by the Emperor Charles V, was declared for the Jews of Naples, but it was postponed for ten years due to the intervention of Benvenida and several princesses from Naples who petitioned the emperor. Although Benvenida's young charge Eleonora de Toledo was only eleven at the time, she may have been one of those involved in this appeal. She was related to the emperor and daughter of the viceroy-who for economic reasons argued against the emperor in favor of the continued presence of the Jews in Naples. In 1540, however, the Jews of Naples received an edict requiring them to wear the Jewish badge within six months or to face serious consequences; as a result they left in 1541. The Abravanels, who could have remained, also left at this time. In January they accepted the invitation of Ercole II, Duke of Este-Ferrara (1508-1559), and headed for Ferrara, but seem to have spent about a year and a half in Venice. When Samuel arrived in Ferrara, the ducal secretary referred to him as the king of the Jews from the Kingdom of Naples.

Ferrara was a major refuge for Sephardic Jews at this time. In 1548 the former crypto-Jew, Doña Gracia Nasi, received a safe-conduct to settle there. By that time, Benvenida was the major force in the Jewish community and the interests of the two families did not always coincide. While it is not known whether the two women ever met, there is evidence that after Gracia's niece, Beatrice (later Gracia), married her nephew, Samuel Nasi, in 1557, the couple visited Jacob Abravanel in his house in Ferrara. The rivalry between the two families became especially evident in 1555-1556 during the crisis over Doña Gracia's attempt to have Ottoman Jewish merchants boycott the papal port of Ancona. The interests of the Abravanal family, and especially of Benvenida's son Jacob, were with Ancona.

When Samuel left Naples for exile he had been afraid of bandits and murderers in light of the large influx of wealthy Jews on the roads. He had therefore turned to the city scribe and judge and nine witnesses before the local authorities to leave his last will and testament. The location of his original will is not known, but because it was later contested, several rabbinic responsa dealt with the nature of his deposition and the validity of the charges against it without ever specifically mentioning the names of Samuel, Benvenida, or any of the children involved. Samuel expressed the hope that his will would be valid as an inheritance and if not, as a gift.

Benvenida was made general heir to all Samuel's moveable and immovable property. He gave several reasons for naming his wife his general heir: she had brought with her into the marriage a large dowry which was the source of much of their wealth, provided for the household according to his wishes and showed good judgment and strong character in managing his affairs with wisdom and understanding. He was concerned that one or another of his sons (i.e. his illegitimate or legitimate sons), who behaved haughtily and immorally, would destroy in a moment everything he had acquired.

Benvenida was authorized by him to do what she wished with the property, except for the specific amounts that he had stipulated as gifts for various children when they married and provided they did so according to Benvenida's wishes. She was to base her determination of the ultimate disposition of her property on the behavior of the children and what seemed right in her eyes. In addition to sums of money provided for each child, gifts to the eldest son included a large basin, a silver jar, a gem with a large sapphire and a ruby, a ring with a platform of diamonds, and all the parchment books that had been his father's. He noted that Benvenida would know which books these were.

He also left his illegitimate son a certain sum, made him a private heir, provided him with food, drink, shoes and clothing. When he married-if he did so according to the wishes of Benvenida-he would be given a further amount, double that which he had already received, two full beds, and more jewelry and clothing for his wife-again, according to the wishes of Benvenida. If challenged by any of the children, the will would be cancelled.

In 1547 Samuel died suddenly in Ferrara as a result of a drug that left him paralyzed. Because he left no other will, Benvenida published Samuel's will of 1541 in 1550 after waiting three years from the time of his death. She gave as reasons for her delay her desire to protect the reputation of her husband, to protect the feelings of the sons who were disinherited, and to avoid a controversy since eventually the sons would receive the inheritance. She did not mention the fact that at this time a plague was raging in Ferrara and at least Jacob and Isaac had fled the city, returning in March 1550.

"Benjamin," sometimes called Isaac, sometimes identified as the son of his father's concubine, then demanded that the will be cancelled, citing rabbinic arguments that a woman cannot be an heir. From 1550-1551, Benvenida's right to inherit became a major dispute among the rabbis of Italy and Turkey. Jacob and Judah sought support against Isaac. Benvenida herself-in one of the few acts involving discourse attributed to her- responded that although a man cannot have his wife inherit according to Jewish law, she can acquire his possessions according to the law of gifts, especially when the gift was made by a man who mentioned the possibility of his death. She further defended her role as heir on the grounds that documents produced by Jews with Christian notaries were binding, since "the law of the land" is binding on Jews.

The struggle among the Abravanels continued. Isaac took an oath and seized the account book of his father Samuel in order to use the information in it to force Benvenida and the others to compromise. In June, 1551, Isaac testified before a notary in Ferrara about the differences between his fortunes and those of the other members of the family: while Benvenida and the other sons had honor, wealth and control of the estate; he was spending his portion on legal fees. He referred to himself as poor and willing to compromise.

Nevertheless, Benvenida took over Samuel's business affairs. She had a longstanding connection with Eleonora de Toledo, since 1539 the wife of the Grand Duke Cosimo Medici (1519-1574) and Duchess of Tuscany. In 1544, when Benvenida came to Florence to visit and to discuss religious matters with Eleonora, the Duke had been present for this friendly conversation. Now Benvenida received permission from the authorities in Florence to open five banking establishments in Tuscany with her sons, Jacob and Judah.

To expand her activities, in September 1550 Benvenida authorized her son Jacob to pay a significant sum to the Genoese Teodoro Spinola if he would intercede with Charles V to allow a hundred Jewish households-selected by her-to settle in Naples. In 1551 her son Jacob brought Iberian Jews to Florence, where he opened a bank and acquired a charter to settle there. In 1552, Isaac and Jacob were in Lyons.

Another quarrel broke out between Benvenida and the children in May 1552. She and Jacob had Judah jailed and his possessions distrained because he had married a Portuguese Jewish woman in Pesaro. On February 17, 1553, when she made her own will, Benvenida took the matter one step further by cutting Judah off completely because of this love affair and for his involvement with Isaac's claim to be an Abravanel. On June 21, 1554, representatives of the Jewish communities of northern Italy issued a series of important enactments. At least one manuscript version of the enactments raises the possibility that Isaac was among the fourteen who signed it, an indication of his status among the Jews of Italy despite his relations with Benvenida. If Isaac was not Samuel's illegitimate son, then according to other manuscripts he was a nephew, Isaac the son of Joseph. By the time of the controversy of the boycott of Ancona from 1555-1556, Judah's family sided with the interests of the Jews of Ancona against those of Pesaro where Judah was living.

Showing the continued vulnerability of the family, in 1553 Jacob and his cousin Isaac handed over their copies of the Talmud to the Ferrara Inquisition. In 1563, Judah and his wife Gioia, both of whom had been accused of some sort of unspecified religious relapse, received a letter of protection from Duke Cosimo.

Recent findings indicate that Benvenida Abravanel was still alive during the 1560s.

Benvenida received praise from many prominent Jewish writers, whose works remain major sources of information about her. Given her wealth, however, these encomia could have been the result of financial reward for the author rather than an accurate portrayal of the recipient. These praises are to be found in several sources. One is the Travel Diary of David Reuveni, who profited greatly from her largesse although his text seems to indicate that she may no longer have been alive when the text was written or at least copied. In his work, he wrote: "May she be blessed for the Lord" (Aaron Ze'ev Aescoly, Sippur David Reuveni. Jerusalem: 1940, 57, 82).

In 1552 Eliezer Melli dedicated a book, Le-Khol Hefez, a collection of document formularies for Jewish life published in Venice, to Judah, the son of the late Samuel Abravanel. In it, he noted: "And the name of his wise mother, all of her is complete perfection (kulah kelulah min ha-kol), Señora Ben Venida, yarom hodah" (reprinted in Yalkut Hilkhot Shetarot. Monroe, NY: 1993).

Much of what is known about Benvenida is from the contemporary Consolation for the Tribulations of Israel, written by Samuel Usque (sixteenth century) in Ferrara in 1553. The book was dedicated to Doña Gracia, but included extensive praise of both Benvenida and Samuel Abravanel: "Heaven had granted him a companion who was his peer in all virtues." (Martin A. Cohen, tr. Consolations. Philadelphia: 1964, 209-210).

Writing in the seventeenth century, Immanuel Aboab (c. 1555-1628) in his Nomologia followed Usque: "[Samuel] merited that his wife was also among the honored women of Israel, among the distinguished in their nobility and in their excellence they stood by us in our exile. Like this was the lady Doña Benvenida Abravanel, a model and a symbol of modesty, piety, wisdom and power" (Be-Ma'avak al erkah shel torah. Amsterdam: 1629, 303; tr. M[oshe] oises Orfali. Jerusalem: 1997, 266).

In Magen Nashim, a bi-lingual contribution to the Italian-Jewish querrelle des femmes probably written after Benvenida's death, Judah Sommo (1527-1592) devoted several stanzas to Benvenida and her female line (in Hayyim Shirmann, Zahot bedihuta de-kiddushin. Jerusalem: 1965, 138-141). He writes:

(30) Lift your eyes, O fool, who waste your energies in contempt of them (women), not to see the Pleiades and Orion, but one who goes up even higher, and you will see what honor covers Benvenida the princess, who has for herself a name and a remainder of a noble Jewish woman." (31) ... [F]rom there departed the delicate one, honorable daughter of the king, and from there she guided her honor, with her noble company. (32) ... whose virtue has no equal. Can any human count those who possess such varied virtues? From her every woman will learn how to bring a gift before the Lord. Shoot from the stock of Jesse, we cannot yet say that she is no longer.

In the margins of one of the responsa dealing with the matter of inheritance, Benvenida, not identified by name, is recognized as "a lady and a crown of women, a mother in Israel."

Benvenida Abravanel used her family's wealth to serve her own interests, those of her family, and those of her people. She gave generously, but also reacted vindictively when she felt that her honor, influence or assets were threatened. Married to one of the most powerful Jews of the period, she provided the source of much of his wealth and endured the humiliation of the antics of his illegitimate son as well as of some of their own sons. She ultimately used her authority to punish severely those sons who did not meet her expectations. This included extreme displeasure over one son's marrying a Portuguese Jewish woman, though she herself had a daughter living in Portugal. Tribute flowed to her, most of it motivated by the desire for financial support from her or from her heirs, including her female heirs, but she herself left very few words in the historical record. In addition to the defense of women receiving gifts which is attributed to her, one folk remedy in her name is found in a British Library manuscript. Future archival findings may enable her to speak again.

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Benvenida Abravanel was one of the most influential and wealthiest Jewish women of early modern Italy. Her family life, however, was wracked by strife. The sources about her include literary praise of her and her family, references to her in the travel diary of the messianic pretender David Reuveni (d.

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Note: The Jewish Ghetto in Rome features prominently in our Rome As A Local Tour, which takes travelers to some of Rome's most incredible under-the-radar attractions. If you are interested by what you read here, check out the tour - we guarantee that you won't be disappointed
Hidden in the heart of the city, Rome's Jewish Ghetto is one of the best attractions in Rome and also one of its least-known. As the oldest Jewish community in all of Europe, this beautiful, thriving neighborhood is as central to the history of the city as it is to the Jewish faith. Follow us into the Jewish Ghetto, Rome, to see how Jews have shaped the Eternal City.

The Ghetto was established in 1555 in the Rione Sant'Angelo, near the Tiber River in the southern part of Campo de'Fiori. Its borders were laid down in a Papal Bull along with various discriminatory laws about what professions Jews could and could not hold. One of the accepted professions, that of selling fish, still lends its name to streets in the area of the old fish market. Though the neighborhood now commands some of the highest property prices in Rome, the original Jewish Ghetto (known simply as the Roman Ghetto) was walled-in and crowded. It was built on low, malarial land subject to regular floods from the Tiber. Life was grim until the Ghetto walls were torn down in 1888.

Jewish culture grew and thrived in the Roman Ghetto, but the neighborhood also witnessed one of the most heart-wrenching episodes of the Nazi occupation during the Second World War. After the German government proclaimed that Rome's Jews would be spared deportation to the concentration camps if a gold ransom was paid, many in the city, including The Vatican, donated their gold (though there is some debate as to whether or not the Vatican's offer was refused). Even though the Jewish community raised the required amount, Nazi soldiers entered the neighborhood on October 16th, 1943 and deported between 1,000 and 2,000 people. Only 16 survived.

Over the years the area has grown into a beautiful neighborhood filled with restaurants, churches, and synagogues that combine jewish culture with the grandeur of Roman architecture. The ruins of the enormous ancient Portico, the Portico d'Ottavia, rise from under 20 feet below street level, at once a testament to history as well as the changes time brings.

Named after Marcus Marcellus, Emperor Augustus's nephew, who died five years before its completion, the Teatro was begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus in 13 BC. It's also known as the Jewish Coliseum for its resemblance to the original Colosseum. This ancient, open-air theater once held approximately 11,000 to 20,000 spectators, and the seats filled for acting, dancing or singing performances. Located in the Rione of Sant'Angelo, today it still holds different shows throughout the summer. Look up to the top floors to see swanky apartments that command beautiful views of the city center and are occupied by some of the city's oldest Jewish families.

The Great Synagogue of Rome, or the Tempio Maggiore di Roma in Italian, is the largest synagogue in all of Rome and possibly all of Italy. This impressive building is pretty new by Roman standards. After people of Jewish faith were granted citizenship during Italian unification in 1870, the original ghetto synagogue was torn down and plans for the Great Synagogue began. The cornerstone was laid in 1901 and the Synagogue was officially completed in 1904, a veritable baby in the Roman skyline. How to visit via Catalana, Roma, tel. 06-6840061. From mid-June to mid-September, hours are Sunday to Thursday 10am to 7pm, Friday 10am to 4pm. At other times, hours are Sunday to Thursday 10am to 5pm, Friday 9am to 2pm.

The Jewish Museum is located in the Great Synagogue. Opened underneath the Great Synagogue in 1960, it displays silverware and textiles, parchments and marble carvings from the collections of the Jewish Community of Rome. It tells the history of the Jews and the Jewish Ghetto in Rome. Begin your explorations of the neighborhood here to get some context under your belt. A museum visit also includes entrance to the Great Synagogue. Admission is 10 euros. How to visit via Catalana, Roma, tel. +39 06-6840-0661

the Mouth of Truth, or Bocca della Verita, is the image of a man's face carved in marble. Located in the entrance of the Santa Maria in Cosmedin Church since the 17th century, the sculpture is thought to be from the first century. Though we know that it's not connected to judaism or Rome's Jewish Ghetto, legends of its origins range from being a part of an ancient fountain, to a church, to a manhole cover, but the strangest part of all is its powers as a lie detector. As far back as the Middle Ages, Romans believed that if you told a lie with your hand in the sculpture's mouth, your hand would be bitten off! How to visit The Church is open from 9:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. Piazza della Bocca della Verità, 18, Roma, tel. +39 06 678 7759.

The Fontane delle Tartarughe

The Turtle Fountain is a late Renaissance fountain in the rione Sant'Angelo. Though it might have been called the Dolphin Fountain, as it once had dolphins where the turtles now sit, they were removed because of low water pressure, and the turtles were added to make the fountain seem complete. Originally built as a drinking fountain, the water was sourced from the Acqua Vergine, one of Rome's first aqueducts - a big deal for sixth century Romans!

.... And maybe even a Church

Somewhat surprisingly all things considered, there are more than 15 churches in the small area that comprises the old Jewish Ghetto. Some of the most famous are Chiesa di Santa Maria del Pianto, Chiesa di San Tommaso ai Cenci, Chiesa di Santa Caterina dei Funari, and Chiesa di San Stanislao dei Polacchi. If you found our Insiders' guide to the Jewish Ghetto, Rome, helpful, you should check out some of our other Insiders' Guides: The Amalfi Coast Guide, The Tuscany Guide, Outdoor Adventures Guide

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Visiting The Jewish Ghetto, Rome | Blog | Walks of Italy

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Note: The Jewish Ghetto in Rome features prominently in our Rome As A Local Tour , which takes travelers to some of Rome's most incredible under-the-radar attractions. If you are interested by what you read here, check out the tour - we guarantee that you won't be disappointed Hidden in the heart of the city, Rome's Jewish Ghetto is one of the best attractions in Rome and also one of its least-known.

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[Regions of Italy]

Lodgings Near the Synagogues

The Jews in Italy have strong bi-cultural roots which go back even before the birth of Christ, when the Jews already had an alliance with the Roman Empire. Under the leadership of Judah Maccabeus, many Israelites left the land of Israel to go to the "Eternal City" (Rome) in the second century BCE. It was not until the Romans destroyed the second temple in Jerusalem [70 CE] that the Jewish/Roman alliance was broken and the Jews were forced into slavery. About ten thousand Jews were transported to Rome to be used as workhands to help build the Coliseum. This image of history was frozen in time and will be remembered forever thanks to the Arch of Titus, where the Roman victory over the Jews was etched in stone.

Arch of Titus

A lthough enslaved, the Jewish population in Rome flourished. Thirteen synagogues were built as well as numerous cemeteries. However, many Romans despised the Jews and found their rituals to be barbaric. Rome is not the only Italian city where Jewish communities began to grow. Many communities began to spring up in southern and northern Italy, such as Taranto, Ferrara, and Milan.

T hroughout history the situation of the Jews depended greatly on who was in control of either the Roman Empire or the Church. However, the tolerance for religious freedom started to take a turn for the worse in 380 CE when the Edict of Tessa Lonica of Teodosia was put into act. The edict recognized Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire, with very little tolerance for Jews and other religious cults. As the Church gained more power, and as the Empire declined, tolerance continued to swing back and forth. For example, Charlemagne defended the civil and commercial right for Jews, which gave them relative tranquillity for about two centuries. In the south, the Ottoman Empire also let the Jews live peacefully as well. In fact many great schools for Jewish studies opened in Bari and Otranto. After 1000 CE, conditions became more uncertain for the Jews because the feudal system and artisan guilds began to be put into place. Jews were barred from all guilds and were only allowed two positions, that of money lending and the selling of used clothing. It is notable that they were allowed to be moneylenders. At the time the church had forbidden all Christians from money lending and this would not be repealed until the fifteenth century with the passing of Monte Di Pietà. However, the position of money lending helped Jews to survive and eventually even to own property. Many feudal lords were kind to their moneylenders and kept them from harm's way.

I n 1215, the Fourth Lateran Council decided that Jews had to live in separate quarters and wear special insignia for the first time in the Italian states. Men were forced to wear red or yellow hats and a cloth badge on their coats. Jewish women had to wear a yellow veil over their hats. These rules were not carried out for very long but they would not be forgotten and they set building blocks for the future.

n areas under Aragon rule, Jews generally lived peacefully until 1492, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella decided to expel all Jews from the Spanish Kingdom. Many fled to the northern Italian states between the years of 1492 to 1541. Over 37,000 Jews left Sicily, never to return. Most headed for Rome and Milan, but many others settled in Ancona, Venice, and Livorno. The anti-Semitic fervor did not end in Spain. By the second half of the 16th century the church instituted the Papal Bul: All Jews were to be enclosed in ghettos, each community could have only one synagogue, all commercial and civil rights were taken away, and all Jews had to wear a I contrassegno (identification). Although similar rules had been instituted in 1215, this was the first time that the laws were regulated. Many Jews decided to flee the Papal State and go to other states where these rules did not exist. In 1516 the first Jewish ghetto was established in Venice and in 1555 a ghetto was established in Rome. Both were overcrowded and dirty, but the study of Torah and Talmud flourished between their closed walls so ironically, rather than destroy Jewish culture, they actually helped it to blossom and grow. However, in 1569 the Church expelled all Jews from the Papal State with the exception of Rome and Ancona. This trend of expulsion continued throughout the Italian states except for Livorno.

I t was not until the arrival of Napoleon that the doors of the ghettos were torn down. With the exception of the orthodox Jews, Napoleon was seen as a type of savior. Napolean gave Jews their civil and commercial rights and for once in history they were first-class citizens (except those who lived in the Papal State and Tuscany). However, with Napoleon's defeat, they were thrown back into the ghettos and once again their rights were taken away.

I n 1848, the Italian states were unified as a single Italy under the House of Savoy. The new government freed the Jews and gave them their civil and political equality. They no longer had to conceal their identity and a period of great reconstruction began throughout Italy. By 1922 the process of assimilation was almost complete. Of course, it was at this time that the Fascists came to power. At the beginning many Jews supported them, even participating in the March on Rome. However, in 1929 Mussolini passed the Falco Laws. These laws contradicted article 8 of the Italian constitution that allowed freedom of religion. In 1938 Mussolini produced his Manifesto of Italian Racism and declared the Italians to be part of the "pure race" along with the Aryans. Jews were expelled from all public services, such as the army and also public schools. At this point many Jews decided to leave Italy in hope of finding better lives for themselves.

Rome's High Temple

I n 1940 Mussolini joined the war in alliance with Hitler and ordered the fascist army to ransack the ghettos. The confinements and deportations began in 1943. More Jews fled hoping to find shelter in the Alps, convents, and monasteries. Others, such as Franco Cesana, joined the partisans. After World War II, with Mussolini's defeat and the defeat of the Fascists, Jews were reinstated as first-class citizens. Many survivors left for the newly formed nation of Israel while others decided to stay and reconstruct their communities. Today there are over 40,000 Jews in Rome and Milan alone.

by Jacqueline Gomperts, Los Angeles

Here are two kosher B&Bs that are not in the historic center of Rome but fairly close to it:

Mrs. Simcha Labi
Via Imperia 2
Rome, Italy
Phone: 06-442-30332

[Regions of Italy]

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Italy's Jewish "community" was founded during the Roman Empire - In Italy Online

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Regions of Italy] Lodgings Near the Synagogues The Jews in Italy have strong bi-cultural roots which go back even before the birth of Christ, when the Jews already had an alliance with the Roman Empire. Under the leadership of Judah Maccabeus, many Israelites left the land of Israel to go to the "Eternal City" (Rome) in the second century BCE.

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Encyclopedia of Jewish and Israeli history, politics and culture, with biographies, statistics, articles and documents on topics from anti-Semitism to Zionism.