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Encyclopaedia Judaica

Jews in Italy 02: Zenith times in central and northern Italy 1300-1500 - ghetto life since 1555

Jewish cultural life in northern Italy - flight from Vatican territory - persecutions in southern Italy under Spanish rule since 1492 - racist Vatican rule - ghetto regulations in Italy since 1555 - expulsions and bans - Napoleon - Jewish cultural life in the Italian ghettos

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1128. The synagogue of Ancona, built in 1550
and dismantled in 1932. Courtesy Italian Synagogue Collection, Jerusalem

from: Italy; In: Encyclopaedia Judaica 1971, vol. 9

presented by Michael Palomino (2008)

<The Zenith (c. 1300-1500)

The 14th and 15th centuries were periods of expansion and consolidation for the Jewish loan bankers. Their activities resulted not in the accumulation of large fortunes in the hands of a few, but in small fortunes in the hands of many, which led to widely spread prosperity.

[Numbers - rich Jews in northern Italy - cultural activities]

It is difficult to estimate the number of localities in the peninsula in which Jews were living around the middle of the 15th century - possibly 300or more. However, it is certain that the prosperity resulting from their money lending activities was of more benefit to the Jews in Rome and in the north than those in the south. These activities brought them into contact with all sectors of the population, both poor and rich, the small shopkeeper and the lord of the town, the illiterate and the scholar. Hence many of these bankers tended to adopt the way of life of the gentile upper classes, or what has been termed the "Man of the Renaissance" with his taste for letters and art, and pleasure in affluent living.

Nevertheless, the Jews of Italy never became estranged from their Jewish intellectual and religious heritage. This was a period of unprecedented cultural activity, and the Jewish scholars, poets, physicians, and codifiers, who at the same time cultivated secular disciplines and languages, are significant more for their number than for individual excellence. Among the most important were

-- the kabbalistic exegete Menahem b. Benjamin *Recanati

-- the talmudist and biblical exegete *Isaiah b. Elijah of Trani (the Younger)

-- the poet *Immanuel b. Solomon of Rome who composed in Italian as well as in Hebrew and also wrote biblical commentaries,

-- his cousin, the philosopher and translator Judah b. Moses *Romano, *Kalonymus b. Kalonymus, of Provençal origin, author of the satires Massekhet Purim and Even Bohan (Even Boḥan),

-- and Shemariah b. Elijah of Crete, author of a philosophical commentary on the Bible.

Outstanding from the end of the 14th century to the middle of the 15th are

-- the poet and physician *Moses b. Isaac *Rieti, author of Mikdash Me'at, a poetical work in Hebrew modeled on Dante's Divine Comedy,

-- and Obadiah of *Bertinoro, author of the classical commentary on the Mishnah.

A few decades later saw the activity of the philosophers

-- Elijah *Delmedigo and Johanan *Alemanno, both associated with the humanistic circle of *Pico della Mirandola,
--the halakhist Joseph *Colon,
-- *Judah b. Jehiel,
-- and *David Messer Leon, father and son, the former a philosopher and the latter a biblical scholar.

Of Spanish origin were two of the most outstanding personalities and philosophers of their time,

-- Don Isaac *Abrabanel
-- and his son Judah (Leone Ebreo), author of the famous Dialoghi d'amore [[Love Conversations]].

In addition, there were the pioneers of Hebrew printing and other Jews who distinguished themselves in medicine, art, and drama.

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1124. Two pages from the 15th-century manuscript of a prayer book in Judeo-Italian. London, British Museum, Or. Ms. 74. fol. 139v-140

[Discriminations - condemnation of racist Talmud in Spain in 1415 with consequences in Italy - flight from Vatican territory - trials]

However, these brilliant economic and cultural achievements did not exclude some darker interludes. Pope *Urban V (1362-70) confirmed the bull giving protection to the Jews, as also did *Boniface IX (1389-1404), who surrounded himself with Jewish physicians. The situation deteriorated (col. 1122)

after the final condemnation of the Talmud in Spain in 1415 and increasing anti-Jewish activities by the Franciscan friars. Delegates of the Jewish communities assembled in Bologna in 1416, and in Forli in 1418 to combat these and other dangers. They succeeded in their representations to Pope *Martin V (1417-31), who issued two favorable bulls in 1419 and in 1429 and endeavored to control the anti-Jewish preachings of the Franciscans and especially the activities of their most aggressive representative, John of *Capistrano.

However, in 1442, *Eugenius IV introduced harsh anti-Jewish measures which Jewish delegates meeting in Tivoli in 1442 and in Ravenna in 1443 tried unsuccessfully to oppose. In these circumstances, many Jews preferred to move to the territories of rulers who were better disposed, like the Gonzaga in Mantua and the Este in Ferrara. In the following decades the official Vatican attitude again moderated. On the other hand, the Franciscan preachers, often opposed by the civic authorities, violently attacked the Jews and especially Jewish money lenders, demanding that they should be expelled and their activities replaced by Christian charitable loan banks (see *Monte di Pietà).

In order to inflame the populace the friars spread all manner of slanders against Jews, of which the most distressing was the charge of ritual murder in 1475 at *Trent. Other incidents took place elsewhere and were followed by expulsions, generally of a temporary nature.

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1125. Page from the second edition of "Sefer Mitzvot Gadol" by Moses b. Jacob of Coucy, printed by Gershon b. Moses Soncino, in Soncino, 1488. Jerusalem, J.N.U.L. *Incunabula list, no. 154

The Crisis (1492-1600)

[Expulsion from Spain with Sicily and Sardinia in 1492 - expulsion from the Kingdom of Naples in 1510 - expulsion edict against New Christians in Naples in 1515 - ban of Jews in southern Italy for 300 years]

Two factors undermined the existence of the Jews in Italy from the end of the 15th and throughout the 16th centuries: the attitude of the Spanish crown toward its Jewish subjects which extended to its Italian possessions, and the confusion caused by the Counter-Reformation struggle in Italy. When the edict of expulsion of the Jews from Spain was issued in March 1492 both Sicily and Sardinia were under Aragonese rule so that the measure was applied there also.

Promulgated in May, it was at once implemented, and the process of expulsion was (col. 1123)

completed by January 1493. In Sicily, 6,300 Jewish-owned houses were confiscated, and a levy of 100,000 florins was imposed. It is calculated that almost 40,000 Jews in all left the country. In Sardinia, the numbers affected were far less. The majority of the exiles went to continental Italy, but a considerable number chose other lands: North Africa, Greece, Turkey, the Levant. The Jews of the two islands were not the only ones to seek shelter in the Kingdom of Naples under the protection of King Ferdinand. They were joined by about 9,000 Spanish Jews. Spanish Jews also received a generally benevolent welcome in other Italian states, and even in the Papal States under Pope *Alexander VI (1492-1503).

However, in 1503 the Kingdom of Naples also passed under Spanish rule and in 1510 the expulsion of the Jews was ordered - probably some tens of thousands, though the exact number is difficult to ascertain. The decree was not carried out immediately and 200 wealthy families were formally permitted to remain. In 1515 the edict of expulsion was extended to the *New Christians - that is to Jews who had become converted to Catholicism more or less sincerely and their descendants. In 1515 and in 1520 the quota of tolerated wealthy families was increased, and then lowered again. In 1541 this agreement was definitively abrogated and the law excluding Jews remained in force in southern Italy for over three centuries.

[Jewish rights in central and northern Italy]

Conditions in central and northern Italy were completely different. In Rome Popes *Julius II, *Leo X, *Clement VII, and *Paul III, although differing in character, were well-disposed toward the Jews under their jurisdiction. The same applied to the Medici in Florence, the Este in Ferrara, and the Gonzaga in Mantua, who encouraged the activities and talents of their Jewish subjects, both the older inhabitants and the new arrivals. In Venice the senate began to treat the Jews with a little more consideration, although in 1516 Jewish residence was confined to the *ghetto. (col. 1124)

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1117-1118. Map with the major Jewish communities in Italy, 1450-1550. Based on A. Milano: Storia degli ebrei in Italia, Turin, 1963

[The Vatican line against the Jews since the rise of Protestantism - ghetto regulations for the Jews since 1555 - more restrictions - expulsion from the Papal State excepting Rome, Ancona, and Avignon in 1593 - ban from Milan in 1597]

The reaction of the Roman Church to the rise of Protestantism reached a climax in the middle of the 16th century. In its efforts to preserve Catholics from all possibility of religious contamination, the Church acted with particular harshness against the Jews. The first blow fell in 1553, when Pope *Julius III ordered that all copies of the Talmud should be confiscated and burned throughout Italy, on the charge that it blasphemed Christianity (see *Talmud, Burning of). The attack became more violent under *Paul IV (1555-59). His bull Cum nimis absurdum of July 14, 1555

-- obliged the Jews in the Papal States to lock themselves in the ghetto at night,
-- prohibited them from engaging in any commercial activity excepting the sale of rags,
-- required them to sell their houses,
-- and submitted them to all the most harassing restrictions enacted during the preceding centuries.

At *Ancona, on the pope's orders, 25 Portuguese Marranos found guilty of (col. 1124)

having returned to Judaism were sent to the stake. Under *Pius IV (1559-65) the oppression abated, but rose to even worse excesses under *Pius V (1566-72), who expelled the Jews from all of the Papal States, excepting Rome and Ancona. Some relief was afforded under *Sixtus V (1585-90), who permitted Jews to resume their activities in the towns they had recently been forced to leave. However, all vacillation ended with *Clement VIII (1592-1605), who in a bull of Feb. 25, 1593, reverted to the harsh measures of Paul IV and Pius V and ordered the Jews to leave the papal domains within three months, excepting Rome, Ancona, and Avignon.

For over two centuries this restrictive papal legislation continued to apply to the Jews living in the papal territories, and was adopted with almost no exceptions by the other Italian states. In the meantime, 900 Jews were banished in 1597 from the duchy of Milan, then under Spanish rule.

[Cultural life under the expulsions and restrictions]

Jewish cultural and spiritual life did not suffer because of these vicissitudes. Every town of standing had its yeshivah [[religious Torah school]], that of Padua becoming important under Judah and Abraham *Minz and Meir *Katzenellenbogen. Scholars of this period include the philosopher and biblical exegete Obadiah *Sforno; the religious philosopher *Jehiel Nissim of Pisa; the grammarians Abraham de *Balmes, Samuel *Archivolti, and Elijah (Bahur, Baḥur) *Levita; the physician and lexicographer David de' *Pomis; the geographer Abraham *Farissol; the chroniclers Solomon *ibn Verga, Gedaliah *ibn Yahya (Yaḥya), *Joseph ha-Kohen, and the antiquarian Abraham *Portaleone; the scholarly historian Azariah de' *Rossi, author of Me'or Einayim; the poet *Moses b. Joab; and the dramatist Judah (Leone) de' Sommi *Portaleone, who wrote in both Hebrew and Italian.

In addition, many Jews individually contributed to art, drama, music, and the development of printing. Outstanding in the medical profession were the papal (col. 1125)

physicians *Bonet de Lattes, Samuel and Joseph *Sarfati, Vitale *Alatino, and Jacob *Mantino; also *Amatus Lusitanus, author of Curationum Centuriae, Elijah *Montalto, and the *Portaleone family of Mantua, five generations of whom attended on the Gonzagas. (col. 1126)

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1140. Chair of Elijah, used at circumcisions, Italy, 17th / 18th century. Wood, partially gilded, height 63 1/2 in (161 cm). Jerusalem, Sir Isaac and Lady Wolfson Museum in Hechal Shlomo. Photo David Harris, Jerusalem

Persecutions (c. 1600-c. 1800)

[The "Age of the Ghetto" in Italy: installation of Jewish ghettos from Rome to the Alps - Jewish badge laws - profession restrictions]

This period is generally known as the Age of the Ghetto. It logically begins in 1555 when compulsory segregation was imposed by Paul IV, or even with the isolated instance when the Venice ghetto was established in 1516. However, it was at the end of the 16th century that the ghetto became an accepted institution in Italy, from Rome to the Alps.

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1127. The Venice ghetto, established in 1516.
Courtesy Italian Synagogue Collection, Jerusalem

Every ghetto had its individual character. Some were overcrowded and unhealthy like that of Rome, the largest of all; others were more spacious and vivacious as in Venice (long the center of Hebrew printing), Ferrara, and Mantua; some had only a nominal existence, as in *Leghorn [[Livorno]]. All the ghettos - excepting that of Leghorn - were locked at night; the houses, even if owned by Christians, had fixed rents (jus gazaga; see *Hazakah (Ḥazakah).

Jews who went outside the ghetto were obliged to wear a distinguishing badge on their garments. They could not enter the professions except (with severe restrictions) that of medicine. To travel out of the town they required special permits. Almost everywhere they were compelled to attend conversionist sermons. The police gave adequate protection to the ghetto from concerted attacks, but only reluctantly in cases of individual molestation. (col. 1126)

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1135. Reader's desk of the Italian Synagogue
in Venice, built in 1575. Courtesy Jewish community, Venice

[Numbers - bankrupt of the Jewish community of Rome in 1698]

There were approximately 30,000 Jews living in Italy in the 17th and 18th centuries, of whom between 4,000 and 7,000 lived in Rome, somewhat fewer in Leghorn [[Livorno]], and the others distributed in almost 70 places.

The position of the Rome community was the most critical. Conditions had steadily deteriorated through the restrictions on earning a livelihood and the high taxation imposed by the Holy See. From the middle of the 17th century some of the popes (*Innocent X, XI, and XII) attempted to mitigate their lot but were unable to prevent the community from being declared bankrupt in 1698.

In the 18th century also other pontiffs (*Clement XI, *Benedict XIV, *Clement XIV) were moved to sympathy by the desperate plight of Rome Jewry, but any measures they introduces were counteracted by hostile successors. In the first year of his pontificate, Pius *VI (1775-99) published an "Edict Concerning the Jews", characterized by utter obscurantism. (col. 1126)

Declarations for Jewish rights
Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, Vol, 9, col. 1131. Declaration of protection, Florence 1668	Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1131-1132. Document issued by the Grand Duke of Venice permitting members of the Conigliano family to wear black hats without a Jewish badge, 1701. Courtesy Israel Museum. Photo Archives, Jerusalem

In the other towns of the Papal States with Jewish communities, Ancona and (from 1598) Ferrara, the pressure upon the Jews was less extreme. Elsewhere, in the 18th century, in small communities - e.g., in Piedmont - Jews who were considered useful to the economy received particular assistance. In Veneto the Jews helped to arrest the decline of the towns where they were living, particularly Venice. In Tuscany, the Jews of Leghorn [[Livorno]], who were completely free to utilize their commercial ability, were so successful that the grand dukes of the house of Lorraine, in particular Leopold I (1765-90), began to treat their other Jewish subjects similarly and to improve their conditions. (col. 1126)

Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971): Italy, vol. 9, col. 1129-1130. Engraving of a pageant display representing Mercury as the bearer of peace, contributed by the Jewish community to the festivities honoring the arrival in the city of Leopold I, Grand Duke of Tuscany. Leghorn [[Livorno]], 1766

[Napoleon in Italy - and restoration of the restriction laws]

When the French armies entered Italy in 1796-98, the new revolutionary spirit momentarily triumphed: the walls of the ghetto were demolished and the Jews received equal rights. However, with the restoration of the old regimes in 1799, all the new-found liberties were abolished. Napoleon's campaign of 1800 again brought freedom to the Jews, but in 1815 the restoration resulted in a complete and almost general renewal of the old [[ghetto]] conditions.

[Cultural life in the Italian Jewish ghettos - Kabbalah and opposition - literature]

Intellectual life within the ghetto was inevitably inferior to that of the preceding period. Learned Jews were obliged not only to renounce their contacts with the outside world, but also any participation in academic institutions and (col. 1126)

hence pursuit of secular studies. This resulted in a very different literary orientation. Among the authors of Jewish apologetics were Leone *Modena, Simone (Simhah, Simḥah) *Luzzatto, and Isaac *Cardoso. Controversies arose between the supporters of Kabbalah, Mordecai *Dato, Aaron Berechiah of *Modena, Menahem Azariah of Fano, Moses *Zacuto, and Solomon Aviad Sar Shalom *Basilea, and its opponents, Azariah de' Rossi and Azariah *Figo. *Benjamin b. Eliezer ha-Kohen Vitale and Abraham *Rovigo tended toward Shabbateanism. Joseph *Ergas and *Malachi b. Jacob ha-Kohen were instrumental in transferring the center of kabbalistic theosophy to Leghorn [[Livorno]].

Besides the emergence of two poetesses in the Italian language, Deborah Ascarelli and Sarah Coppio *Sullam, poetry was represented by Jacob Daniel *Olmo, the brothers Jacob and Immanuel *Frances, and Isaiah and Israel Benjamin *Bassani, father and son.

Important as a poet, dramatist, and ethical writer was Moses Hayyim (Ḥayyim) *Luzzatto. Salomone *Fiorentino, who wrote poems in Italian toward the end of the ghetto period, was much admired. Talmudic studies attracted such illustrious scholars as Isaac *Lampronti, author of the stupendous compilation Pahad Yizhak (Paḥad Yiẓḥak); barely less distinguished were Moses Zacuto, Solomon *Finzi, Samuel *Aboab, and Samson *Morpurgo. The polygraph Hayyim (Ḥayyim) Joseph David *Azulai also spent much time in Italy.

Hence it would be wrong to state that the walls surrounding the ghetto and its high buildings resulted in intellectual darkness. In fact, the contrary is true. Through scrupulous observance of the mitzvot [[613 commandments of the Torah]] and self-imposed regulation, either to supply the communities with necessities or to avoid excesses in entertainment and dress, the ghetto became a hive of activity, necessarily confined but tremendously alive. Many had several synagogues, all well attended, some with fine architecture such as those of Venice, Padua, Pesaro, and the small Piedmontese communities. There was a constant supply of teachers to listen and instruct. Moral and religious observance was strict but not oppressive. Asocial-service network provided assistance to all those who lived within the ghetto, especially well organized at Venice and Rome. In consequence, when they withdrew at night into the ghetto the Jews did not have the feeling of living in prison.> (col. 1127)