Ghetto di Venezia is a district of the city of Venice. The Ghetto was the district of Venice where Jews were forced to reside during the period of the Republic of Venice, starting from 1516. It is located in the Cannaregio district, it has remained the hub of the Jewish community of Venice and is home to synagogues and other religious institutions.
The Mezuzah is a Jewish ritual object, consisting of a parchment on which the passages of the Torah are written, usually enclosed in a special container. The mezuzah is placed on the door jamb, to the right of whoever enters, and about two thirds of the height of the door itself, and in any case within easy reach. It should not be placed on transit-only doors or on the doors of rooms where you do not reside. It is customary for those who enter the house to touch the mezuzah with their fingers and kiss the fingers themselves, as a sign of respect for the Torah of which it contains passages. In the Jewish quarter they are found in different access doors to houses.
The landmark of the district is 1 Campo del Gheto Novo with its large square placed on an island joined by three bridges including the bridge of the gheto novo and the bridge of the old gheto.
Spires. 4.1 4.2 5.1 5.2
The ghetto can only be visited on foot.
1 Jewish Museum, Cannaregio 2902/b (In the ghetto, vaporetto lines 1
and 2 for San Marcuola), ☎ +39 041715359, fax: +39041 72 3007,
museoebraico@codesscultura.it. Entrance to the museum €4 (reduced €3),
museum entrance with guided tour of the synagogues €10 (reduced €8).
Sun-Fri 1 June-30 September: 10am-7pm; October 1st-May 31st: 10am-6pm.
The museum is closed on Jewish holidays, December 25, January 1 and May
1. Objects related to the social life of the Jewish community, in two
16th century synagogues.
2 Ponte de Gheto Very new.
3 Gheto Novo
bridge.
4 Scuola Grande Tedesca (on the top floor of a building in the Campo
Ghetto Novo, opposite the Jewish Rest Home). which can be visited thanks
to the guided tours of the Jewish Museum of Venice. Ashkenazi rite
temple, the preparation of the Scuola Grande Tedesca began in 1527-28.
It was then completely restructured in the late Baroque style in the
18th century. The school has a trapezoidal shape which makes it unique
compared to the other rectangular synagogues. The bimah and the Aron
Ha-Kodesh are in opposite positions; the bimah was originally placed in
the center of the room, but was moved in the early 1800s to avoid static
problems; moving the bimah involved closing two of the 5 windows from
the inside, all of which are still visible from the outside. The
elliptical women's gallery fits perfectly into the irregular plan of the
synagogue.
5 Canton School (Scola Canton). which can be visited
thanks to the guided tours of the Jewish Museum of Venice. Founded
between 1531 and 1532, the Canton School is also a synagogue of the
Ashkenazi rite located in Campo Ghetto Nuovo in the corner building of
the campo. From the outside it is recognizable by the wooden dome of the
bimah and, from the side of the canal, by an inscription in Hebrew. This
was the first school in Venice to have Aron Ha-Kodesh and bimah in
opposite positions. The counters for the faithful are positioned along
the long sides of the room. The women's gallery is placed above the
entrance along only one side of the synagogue. The baroque style, with
aspects of the rococo, as well as probably the location of the women's
gallery, derives from eighteenth-century restoration interventions. The
Scola Canton is considered unique in Europe for eight panels with wooden
bas-reliefs depicting biblical events: the city of Jericho, the passage
of the Red Sea, the altar of sacrifices, the manna, the Ark on the banks
of the Jordan, Korak, the gift of the Torah and Moses pouring water from
the rock. The name Canton has two possible origins: the Canton family,
who strongly wanted the temple; or the place where it was set up: a
corner, called "cantón" in Venetian dialect.
6 Scola Italiana
(Italian School or Italian Scola Synagogue). The Scola Italiana was set
up in 1575 by the community of Italian origin, the poorest in the
ghetto, and is also located in Campo Ghetto Novo a little further to the
right of the Canton school. Of all the synagogues in the Ghetto, it is
the simplest. The plan of the school is rectangular, almost
quadrangular, with a bifocal system (Aron and Bimah are in opposite
positions). The latter is in a much higher position than the rest of the
room. The counters are against the wall. The women's gallery is
positioned above the entrance on one of the two long sides and dates
back to the 18th century, as does the entire decorative layout of the
synagogue. The Italian school was very important because it hosted the
sermons of the famous rabbi Leone Modena. Particularity: the entrance to
the synagogue is shared with that of some private houses located under
the school.
7 Scola Levantina (Levantine School Synagogue). In the
months when it is not active for worship, it can be visited thanks to
the guided tours of the Jewish Museum of Venice. The Scola Levantina was
probably set up around 1541. It overlooks the campiello delle scole in
the Ghetto Vecchio and is the first Sephardic synagogue in Venice. The
plan is rectangular with the aron and bimah placed in a bifocal
position. The Baroque restoration of this synagogue is particularly
important since it was most likely supervised by the school of
Baldassare Longhena, while the bimah was inlaid by Andrea Brustolon. The
women's gallery, always in an elevated position, runs along one of the
long sides. Outside, one can see a ledge which corresponds to the bimah
and some windows which allow for lighting. This synagogue is still
active for the ritual in the cold months.
8 Scola Ponentina (Spanish
School Synagogue). In the months when it is not active for worship, it
can be visited thanks to the guided tours of the Jewish Museum of
Venice. The Scola Ponentina or Spagnola was founded in 1581 by the
Sephardic community of Spanish and Portuguese origin, expelled from
Spain in 1492. It is the largest of the Venetian synagogues. Located in
the campiello delle scole in front of the Scola Levantine, it is
recognizable by the windows with colored glass and a large wooden door.
Scola with a bifocal system is dominated by an elliptical women's
gallery that runs through the entire room. Most probably the Baroque
restoration was carried out, as in the case of the Levantine School, by
the workshop of Baldassare Longhena. The ceiling is richly worked while
the floor is made up of white and gray tiles. The interior is enriched
by three large chandeliers placed in the center of the room. Rebuilt in
the 1600s and restored in the 19th century, it is still used for worship
in the spring and summer.
Average prices
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041 714123. Venetian cuisine, one of the busiest and undoubtedly of the
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4505. Kosher restaurant.
There are four hypotheses regarding the etymology of the word ghetto
(ghèto in the Venetian dialect):
ghetto as "via" (common root with
Germanic Gasse, Swedish gata, Gothic gatwo);
in relation to the
Italian getto, meaning "foundry";
diminutive of borghetto, meaning
"small town";
in relation to the Hebrew gēt, meaning "document
certifying the divorce".
In 2009, the etymologist Anatoly Liberman
stated that the four hypotheses are essentially speculative, suggesting
that the second is in his opinion the most reliable.
However, the
toponym could also derive from the verb ghettare, that is "to refine the
metal with the gaiter" (lead dioxide), parallel to throw, or "melt
metals". Therefore, the etymological hypothesis that compares "ghetto"
to the Hebrew gēt "divorce writing" seems groundless, given that the
toponym took root well before the arrival of the Jewish community,
although this meaning of the Hebrew language could justify its
permanence and diffusion even after the Jewish settlement. The term geto
in the Venetian dialect meant the "pouring of molten metal", an
operation that took place in the vicinity of the Jewish settlement. The
transition from "geto" to "ghetto" is due to the German-speaking Jews,
for whom the "ge" is pronounced "ghe".
The first nucleuses of the Jewish community of Venice are already
attested before the year one thousand, but until the late fourteenth
century there was no consistent and stable settlement. Until the
establishment of the ghetto, Jews, despite being subject to various
restrictions, could live anywhere in the city.
The area where the
Jewish quarter was later built was called "Ghetto" at least from the
beginning of the 14th century, since the public foundries for the
manufacture of bombards were located there. Even then these spaces were
divided into two parts, called Ghetto Vecchio and Ghetto Nuovo
respectively.
Towards the beginning of the fifteenth century the
foundries stopped working and the area of the Ghetto Nuovo was entrusted
to the Da Brolo brothers, who intended to build a residential complex
there, comprising twenty-five houses for rent and a church. Around 1460
a dispute arose between the parishes of San Geremia and San Marcuola
regarding the ecclesiastical pertinence of the new quarter. Eventually
the project was abandoned and the area was uninhabited for several
decades. The three wells in the center of the Campo del Ghetto Novo date
back to this period, bearing the Da Brolo coat of arms.
Establishment of the Jewish Quarter
Something similar to the future
Ghetto already existed in Venice, because from the 13th century at the
warehouse of the Germans there was a single building (still existing at
the foot of the Rialto Bridge), in which the merchants called "Germans",
coming from Central Europe , like Hungarians and Bohemians, were locked
up at night. Even the Ottomans had a warehouse, where they lived
secluded, with their own place of worship and a hammam.
Between
the thirteenth and sixteenth centuries, throughout Europe the Jews were
persecuted and expelled (from England in 1290, from France in 1394, from
many German cities in 1470, from Spain in 1492, from Portugal in 1497)
and many of them found refuge in Venice. A new wave of arrivals occurred
at the beginning of the sixteenth century, when the upheavals of the War
of the League of Cambrai led numerous Jews to pour from the mainland
into the lagoon.
In the XVI century
During the sixteenth
century various synagogues were built, one for each group of homogeneous
origin: thus arose the Scuola Grande Tedesca, the Canton School (of the
Ashkenazi rite), the Scola Levantina, the Scola Spagnola (of the
Sephardic rite) and the Scola Italiana ( of the Italian rite). The
buildings still constitute an architectural complex of great interest.
Gradually the community consolidated economically and was rich in
cultural ferment. In addition to the exercise of medicine and strazzeria
(sale of used goods), the Venetian government granted the occupation of
money lenders to Ashkenazi Jews, i.e. in fact a credit activity which
Christians were prevented by for religious reasons, in what was
considered against morality to earn interest on sums pledged. Numerous
literary and epistolary testimonies of this activity remain, as going to
the Ghetto to take out a loan or to redeem objects held as collateral
was part of the usual customs. Pawn loans took place as an exception to
the current ban on the practice of lending against interest, and is also
mentioned in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice.
This exponential
growth of the Jewish community aroused suspicion and concern on the part
of the Christian residents. Pessimism was growing in the city, due to
the military collapses of the previous years, and above all the
Franciscan preachers continually reiterated the need to limit the
freedom of the Jews to regain God's favor. The isolation of those who
denied the divinity of Jesus was seen as a kind of rite of atonement. On
March 20, 1516, Zaccaria Dolfin, in the Collegio dei Savi, harshly
attacked the Jews and asked that they be confined to the Ghetto Nuovo.
On March 29, 1516, the Senate, with an overwhelming majority of 130 yes
and 44 no, put its hand to the question, establishing that all Jews must
obligatorily reside in the Ghetto Nuovo. Thus was born an institution
that will then be widely applied also in the rest of Europe. The law
established that "The Jews must all live together in the Corte de Case,
who are in the ghetto near San Girolamo".
All this did not
prevent the demographic growth of the community, also favored by
substantial waves of immigration from all over Europe. To obtain a
sufficient number of lodgings it was necessary to provide for the
vertical expansion of the buildings; still today the buildings of the
Ghetto, a unique case in Venice, are characterized by their considerable
height, up to eight floors. Nonetheless, the Venetian authorities found
themselves forced, on two occasions, to expand the Ghetto Nuovo: in 1541
the Ghetto Vecchio was added, granted to the so-called Levantine Jews,
who had come from the Iberian peninsula and the Ottoman Empire; in 1633
the Ghetto Novissimo was opened, a small area to the east of the Ghetto
Nuovo, made up of just two calli. These areas also had to be provided
with guarded entrances.
In accordance with the Fourth Lateran Council, the Jewish community
of Venice was obliged to wear distinctive signs sewn on their clothes,
such as the yellow O, replaced from 1496 with the yellow beret and,
sometimes, with the "black cap privilege", reserved for the renowned
Israelite doctors, such as David de Pomis, Giacobbe Mantino and Marco
Calò. Protection in the event of war, freedom of religion and business
were guaranteed through the management of the Banco dei pegni at a
maximum interest rate fixed by law, variable from 5% to 10% and
controlled by a representative of the Republic.
The three main
Pawnshops survived until 1797, they took their names based on the color
of the banknotes issued, parallel to that of the typographers-printers
of the sixteenth century in the Veneto region, banned from the year
1566. Jews were prohibited from enrolling in pawnshops. guilds of Arts
and Crafts, and the decree of the Venetian Senate (April 2, 1566)
allowed the opening of five pawnshops with a deposit reserve of 5,000
Venetian ducats at a maximum interest of 10% and with a maximum time
horizon of five years, disposing of the nullity of any contrary act or
agreement and the prohibition of the loan assisted by the guarantee of
foreign arms and some imported goods, sacred objects, the fifth of a
fixed income. The community was allowed to purchase land for the burial
of relatives, dyeing, weaving and trading in particular used objects of
modest value (strazzeria).
Cultural life
After the death of
Saint Pius V (1504-1572), the autonomous structures of the Republic and
its frictions with the papacy made the Venetian Inquisition less
invasive and oppressive than in any other Italian place. In the border
area between the ghetto and the Venetian city, two fundamental works of
Judaism were composed and then published together in 1638, such as: the
Historia de' riti Hebraici by rabbi Leon Modena (1571-1648), and the
Discourse about the state of Jews of his pupil and future rabbi Simone
(Simcha) Luzzatto (1583-1663). The patricians of the early seventeenth
century assiduously frequented the living room of Sara Coppio Sullam,
one of the most cultured women of the time, author of literary works of
which none remain.
The ghetto was a center for the production,
dissemination and use of Jewish-Venetian culture, where even Christians
went to find amulets and horoscopes, spells, illustrated translations of
Jewish texts on magic, astrology, cabala and alchemy, which they may
have been or may have been banned by the Inquisition.
In the XVII
and XVIII centuries
The community's relations with the Republic were
unstable and conversion campaigns to Catholicism took place
periodically. Those who joined also changed their names, assuming that
of those who had induced them to change their religious faith, often a
member of the aristocracy.
With the fall of the Republic and the
advent of Napoleon, in 1797 the gates of the ghetto were eliminated, as
was the obligation to reside.
The Ghetto Nuovo still looks like an island, which can only be
accessed via two bridges. Corresponding to these there were two doors,
which were closed and guarded at night, since the inhabitants were only
allowed to leave the neighborhood during the day and with distinctive
signs. The boats of the Serenissima guarded canals and homes against the
risk of theft and violations of the ban on nocturnal activities.
Nowadays this complex has remained quite intact, even if the Venetian
Jews have moved and do not live inside the ghetto, the latter can
currently be visited as a widespread museum through guided tours. Three
other synagogues, undergoing restoration, are present inside the Ghetto,
the first to reopen in the course of 2023 will be the Italian Synagogue.
The Jewish Museum of Venice, currently closed for restoration, houses a
permanent collection of ritual and household objects linked to Jewish
holidays, Torah and synagogue decoration fabrics, a collection of
ketubboth (marriage contracts), a collection of ancient books including
an early Talmud printed by Daniel Bomberg in the 1500s.
Starting
from the eighties of the twentieth century, two monuments commemorating
the Holocaust were placed in the Novo ghetto area. Both monuments are
the work of the Lithuanian-born artist Arbit Blatas and were placed near
the building that housed the Jewish retirement home. In front of the
entrance to this building, some stumbling blocks have been placed in
memory of the twenty-one people who were taken from here and deported to
the extermination camps.