Le ghetto de Venise. 500 ans

Abstract

500 years ago in Venice, the first ghetto was born. >It was the first of many “Jewish enclosures” ordinated by political powers, such as the Venetian Senate. A place to confine, it soon became an important cosmopolitan and commercial center of the Republic. As one of the main Jewish centers of Italy and the Mediterranean, Venice played a crucial role in the Jewish world. The book explores religious and community life, the role of the Jews in the economy of the Serenissima, and finally the role played by Jews in Venice when they wrre finally allowed to leve the ghetto, with the arrival of Napoleon.

Particular attention is devoted to the architectural structure of the housing, which became extraordinarily high to accommodate the increasing number of inhabitants, and the synagogues of the many different Jewish ‘Nations’ (Italian, German, Spanish, Levantine) presen in Venice at the same time.