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Micaela Pavoncello in the remnants of Rome's ghetto where Jews were forced to live from 1555 until 1870.
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During a first-ever visit last month by Rome’s Chief Rabbi Riccardo Di Segni to the Italian capital’s main mosque, Di Segni offered the Jewish Community of Rome’s support to help Muslims overcome the difficulties of integration in Italy.
No strangers to the problems of integration, Jews have been living in that city continuously for 22 centuries. The Roman destruction of the second temple in 70 CE is even etched in stone in the Arch of Titus. Nevertheless, the Jewish population in Rome flourished and thirteen synagogues were built as well as numerous cemeteries.
Rome is Europe’s oldest Jewish community and the city numbers roughly 16,000 Jews today. "Not that many people know it," confides Micaela Pavoncello of Jewish Roma Walking Tours, "but Jews are the genuine and authentic citizens of Rome."
The area between the Tiber River and the Capitoline Hill that is only about 250 steps wide and extends a mere 4 city blocks is known as the Jewish Ghetto, where Jews were forced to live from 1555 until 1870.
Today the area is the most expensive and trendy in Rome and commands about the same rents as in Manhattan, according to Micaela who sums up the Ghetto in one word: "vibrant".
The Ghetto’s dark, narrow streets are a Mecca for artists and celebrities. Even though most Roman Jews don’t live in this neighborhood anymore, many of their businesses are still here and it is a place where they come back in the evenings, to socialize, to eat, to shop and to pray.
Rich Jewish History
The Ghetto faces onto the Lungotevere Cenci with the impressive building of the Great Synagogue of Rome, which also serves as a cultural and organizational center for the Jewish community.
The building’s attention-grabbing design was a deliberate choice made just over 100 years ago by the community who wanted the building to be a visible celebration of their freedom.
The dome is the only squared dome in the city and makes the building easily identifiable even from a distance.
The synagogue also houses the Jewish Museum of Rome which, after almost a half century of being confined to two rooms, underwent a nearly 1.8 million euros renovation.
The 400 square meter basement of the Great Synagogue now serves as space for an expanded permanent exhibition, with additional space for small temporary installations, all illustrating the history of the Jewish community and Judaism in Rome.
The museum also houses one of the greatest Judaica collections in Europe, but little is known of most of the metal, textile, stone and printed materials in the collection because the Jewish community previously lacked adequate space for research.
Increased non-Jewish Interest
"Clients tell me that when they came to the Jewish Ghetto in the 60s and 70s, they found nothing, but today there’s so much there and so much to see," gushes Micaela.
The majority of visitors to the Jewish Ghetto seem to be American Jews, but there are also a growing number of Thais and Indians, indicating that other cultures are clearly interested in Jewish history and culture. In fact, many non-Jews regularly patronize the Ghetto’s kosher restaurants and bakeries.
Highly recommended is the La Taverna del Ghetto which serves typically Italian Jewish cuisine and is regularly frequented by the locals. And don’t leave Rome without trying the neighborhood specialties of the Antico Forno del Ghetto bakery.
Although there are several kosher hotels in Rome, there are no meat glatt kosher restaurants in the city so Chabad is happy to host any Jew visiting over Shabbat.
There is, however, a "Cholov Isroel" dairy restaurant and glatt food can be catered.
"Nothing is like Rome and I want to share it with the rest of the world," gushes Micaela, who claims that visitors book her tours one year in advance. "Not even the Jewish community of Rome realizes what we can offer to the world."
See also the following website address: http://www.jewishitaly.org/city.asp?citymenu=Rome
