THE JEWISH GHETTO

One of the stops on the itinerary to visit Venice in 3 days is the Jewish Ghetto. It is located in the Cannaregio sestiere just a few minutes' walk from the train station and Piazzale Roma. It is a quiet and relaxed area that will not fail to fascinate you .

HOW TO REACH THE GHETTO

1. On foot

From Piazzale Roma walk along the Ponte della Costituzione bridge that crosses the Grand Canal, pass the station square and continue to Lista di Spagna. Go ahead to Campo San Geremia and cross the Ponte delle Guglie. Turn immediately left and enter the sottoportico that is in front of the pier (Guglie).

If you start from the station square, the itinerary is the same starting from Lista di Spagna.

If, on the other hand, you want to get there from St. Mark's Square, walk along Strada delle Mercerie, head towards Strada Nuova, and once you reach Rio Terà San Leonardo, turn right and then follow the signs.

2. By vaporetto

From Piazzale Roma or the station take the Actv vaporetto line 4.2 or 5.2 and get off at the Guglie stop.

From St. Mark's Square take line 1 and get off at the S. Marcuola stop. Then go towards Rio Terà San Leonardo and follow the signs.

HISTORY OF THE JEWISH GHETTO

The earliest evidence of the Jewish presence in Venice dates back to the 10th century, although it was not until the late 14th century that the settlement of the Jewish community proved to be stable and substantial. As time went on despite permits and prohibitions to live in the city, Jews became more and more numerous, partly due to the influx of exiles from the Iberian Peninsula.

Precisely as a result of this, the Great Council of the Serenissima, in 1516, ordered by decree that Jews should live in a single neighborhood.

The area of Cannaregio corresponding to the Ghetto Nuovo was chosen. It was an ideal area because it was far from the centers of power and entirely surrounded by water and therefore reachable only by bridges. There were originally foundries here. Probably the term ghetto comes from the Venetian "géto," which indicated the casting of metal.

During the day they could go out and roam around the city attending to their occupations, which could only be trading in rags, lending money ( three Pawnshops were established within the ghetto, the Red, Green and Black, presumably because of the color of the receipts that were handed out to customers) and medicine. However, they had to use a yellow headgear or badge.

During the night, however, they could not go out. In fact, at midnight the gates were closed until dawn.

They could profess their own religion.

About 5,000 people came to live in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice, so it became necessary to build the houses in height. Thus neighboring palaces arose that were as high as 7 to 8 stories. Three synagogues or scole were built on top of 3 of them: the German Scola Grande, the Canton Scola and the Italian Scola.

When Levantine Jews (who came from Greece) began to arrive, the city authorities to the community another area: the Old Ghetto. Here the Portuguese and Spanish Jews built the Scola Levantina and the Scola Spagnola.

A final territorial concession that was later granted was a street east of the New Ghetto, which took the name Ghetto Nuovissimo.

The restrictions lasted until 1797, when Napoleon abolished them. Later, under the Austrian Empire much of the social prejudices also disappeared.

With the rise of Mussolini, a terrible period began for the Jewish community with the racial laws. In 1943 Jews were declared enemies of the state.

A great many of them were rounded up and taken to concentration camps.

THE SYNAGOGOGES

The ghetto is home to five synagogues that might escape the notice of those who do not pay much attention. They are in fact built inside pre-existing buildings. They are recognizable by the presence of 5 large windows (5 being the books of the Torah) and by the Hebrew writing on the walls.

The oldest synagogue is the German Synagogue, located in the same building as the Jewish Museum, which illustrates Jewish art during the 17th-19th centuries. On the corner of the New Ghetto field is the Canton synagogue ( Venetian for corner) and nearby is the Italian synagogue.

In the Old Ghetto, on the other hand, are the two newer scole, the Spanish and the Levantine.

The Levantine Scola

Although there are now very few Jews living in the ghetto, the traditions remain alive: you can learn about them through the kitchen, buying some typical sweets, such as aman ears (cookies filled with jam, almonds, poppy seeds or chocolate), or impàde, long cookies made of sugar, eggs and almond paste.

You can also sample kosher cuisine at Gam Gam Restaurant.