Italy is one of the most popular countries in Europe for tourists and despite the relatively small number of Italian Jews – less than 30,000 live in Italy over a general population of 57 million – the community is quite active and able to offer a large variety of products and services to guarantee a kosher stay for the observant Jew.

To simplify the sometimes demanding task of finding Jewish resources in country with only 21 small communities, Milan-based editor of the Jewish magazine "Jewish life" Meyer Piha wrote the “Italy Jewish Guide”, a comprehensive and complete directory to "everything Jewish" in Italy.

Supported by the Tourism Office of the Lombardia Region and printed with the contribution of several private donors, the book is intended for Italians and foreigners alike, as it is written in both Italian and English.

This remarkable guidebook -the first one of its kind in Italy - is a city –by-city directory of every Italian location of Jewish interest.

Starting with a detailed list of the Italian kosher products by brand, the directory lists all kosher restaurants, ice cream bars and hotels from Lago Maggiore southwards, including Livorno, Naples and Paestum.

Obviously, the book doesn’t only list food products, kosher wine vendors and gourmet, but also museums, synagogues, communities and mikvaoth, ancient Jewish areas and current get-togethers, Jewish walking tours, Judaica shops, pharmacies and even matchmakers.

The introduction bears the names of very important personalities of Italian Judaism, namely Rome’s Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni, Rav Alberto Somek from Turin and Rav Elia Richetti from Trieste.

As stated by Milan’s Chief Rabbi Alfonso Arbib: "Each one of us is charged with the capital task of sanctifying his everyday life. I therefore consider the publishing of this guide, which intends to facilitate this task, and important accomplishment.”
Kosher holidays

“My goal was to fill a gap,” Egyptian-born Piha told EJP.

“Italy’s Jewish communities are always busy with a series of different issues, and they never deployed ad hoc resources for this kind of job, nor do they have a commercial interest in the guide.” As a matter of fact, the book first sparked the attention of non-Italian Jews who wish to have a kosher stay in the Bel Paese.

“But I hope that even local Jews, and I am not only referring to those who work in tourism, willl soon appreciate the usefulness of the guide, which I hope will become a common tool in every Jewish household,” Piha commented.

For the time being, Piha is receiving many online orders “from New York and Los Angeles, but even from Ohio”.

The guide is also for sale at “Jerusalem the Golden”, one of the biggest Judaica shops in London.

“After Golders Green,” said Piha “ we are planning to find ourselves retailers wherever there’s a Jewish community, from Paris to South Africa and – needless to say – in Israel, so that every Jew will soon be able to organise a kosher Italian vacation”.

A new “Italy Jewish Guide” will be updated on a yearly basis. The book also contains a Jewish calendar with each city’s Shabbat times.