Arts and Culture
Italian Jewry Facts
Ten Things to Know:
- The very first Jews to enter Europe did so through Italy, under Roman rule.
- Because of this, all Ashkenazi and Sephardi Jews can trace their roots back through Italy originally.
- Some Italian Jews remained in Italy ever since Roman rule. The descendants of these Jews are neither Ashkenazi or Sephardi; they follow their own Italian Rite.
- Today, there are three other primary communities of Jews in Italy: the descendants of the Piedmontese Jews who returned to Italy after they were expelled from France in the Middle Ages; Sephardi Jews who came to Italy after they were expelled from Spain and Portugal in the 1490s; and Mizrachi Jews who came to Italy from Iran, and Libya after more modern expulsions.
- These four groups still largely remain separate from each other in terms of religious practice; one can find Italian Synagogues, Spanish and Portuguese Synagogues, German Synagogues and Mizrachi Synagogues throughout Italy.
- Ancient Rome’s Jewish population was swollen by slaves and prisoners brought back after the sack of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple by the Romans in the year 70 CE.
- The Arch of Titus in the Roman Forum bears a famous carving showing Roman forces in a triumphal procession bearing the menorah and other loot from the destroyed Temple. The arch was such a powerful symbol that Roman Jews refused to walk through it for centuries. They finally did so only in 1948, joyously parading beneath it to celebrate the birth of Israel.
- Venice was the site of the first Jewish ghetto in history. In 1516, civic rulers in Venice forced Jews to live in a closed district on the site of an old foundry. The word “ghetto” is believed to come from “geto,” the Venetian dialect for foundry.
- Not long after, Jews were forced to live in ghettos elsewhere in Italy, including Rome (1555) and Ancona (1569). Jews were forced to live in ghettos all the way through the 18th century – with new ghettos opening in other cities.
- Despite this, Jewish life flourished in the ghetto period, as evidenced most greatly by the Venetian Printing Press.
- The Jewish Venetian Printing Press changed the face of Jewish life forever. The ability to print multiple copies of sacred Jewish texts – including some of the oldest versions of the Talmud and Mishnah that we have today – allowed Jews all over the world to engage with sacred study and practice in new ways.
- This might sound a bit boring, but it cannot be overstated how much the Jewish press in Venice changed the face of Judaism forever!
- Historically, there have been two Jewish prime ministers: Alessandro Fortis from 1905 to 1906 and Luigi Luzzatti from 1910 to 1911, and Ernesto Nathan was the mayor of Rome from 1907 to 1913. More recently, Emanuele Fiano, the former director of the Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI) and past president of the Milan Jewish community, was elected to the Italian Chamber of Deputies.
- Two of the most famous of Italy’s Jews were Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno (1475–1550) and Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707–1746) whose written religious and ethical works are still widely studied.
- Primo Levi (July 31, 1919 – April 11, 1987) was an Italian chemist and author of memoirs, short stories, poems, and novels. He is best known for his work on the Holocaust, and in particular his account of the year he spent as a prisoner in Auschwitz.
- Italian Jews have found fascinating ways to integrate Italian and Jewish culinary traditions. One popular tradition is the preparing of goose salami for Passover.
