A New Museum Explores 2,000 Years of Jewish Life in Italy.
Last edited Sat Apr 27, 2019, 02:03 PM - Edit history (1)
'The new Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara explores the long and complex relationship between Christianity and Judaism.
Brought to Rome in chains after the quelling of the revolt in Jerusalem in 70 A.D., she was apparently the concubine of a Roman notable who wanted to give her a dignified burial and added an unusual element to the funerary stone. “I pray," it said, “take care and follow the law that no one should remove the inscription.”
That tribute is one of many revelations at the new Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah in Ferrara, and is at the heart of the museum’s first major exhibition, “Jews, an Italian Story. The First Thousand Years,” which examines the long and complex relationship between Rome and Jerusalem, Christianity and Judaism.
Jews have lived on the Italian peninsula for more than 2,000 years, one of the oldest communities in the Western Diaspora. Even before the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, then the centerpiece of Judaism, and the ensuing transport and enslavement of Jewish prisoners to Rome, there had been Jews living in the city and southern provinces, where they had arrived as traders and refugees.
The history of Jewish life in Italy might seem like one long saga of suffering and trauma: slavery by the Romans; the Inquisition and persecution by the Church; forced segregation to cramped neighborhoods in the Middle Ages. The first of many ghettos was established in Venice in 1516. The 20th century witnessed the rise of fascism, anti-Semitic racial laws and the Holocaust, when nearly 7,700 Jews out of a total population of 44,500 were killed.
However, there is another part to the Italian Jewish story, one of acceptance, integration and even appreciation throughout the long arc of civilization on the peninsula. “The historic dialogue with the culture of Italy has enriched Italian Judaism and has also brought to the Italian culture much of Jewish values and contribution,” said Simonetta Della Seta, who was appointed the museum’s director in 2016.
As the museum moves chronologically through the eras of Italian history, additions are being made to the permanent exhibit. The second major exhibit opened in April, on Jews and the Renaissance. The Holocaust will be addressed by the museum with a permanent exhibition that will open in September.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/travel/jewish-history-museum-ferrara-italy.html?
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over to Nice which I saw briefly, some of the Italian lake area, then Grenoble and Lyon, France for me. Wishes!
This museum is a wonderful idea, I've known several folks esp. through work of Italian Jewish heritage. One m. into an old Roman family, the other was related to the early 20th c. modern painter Modigliani in Paris who's family was from Livorno. Both women, one m. an American GI and left Italy for the US post war, the other m. an Italian after the Second World War.
Redhead Woman Wearing A Pendant, by Amadeo Modigliani, 1918.
