500 years ago, on March 29, 1516, the Most Serene Republic of Venice determined that Jews were forced to live in a delimited area, which came to be called “Ghetto”. The Jews of Venice lived there for almost 300 years, until 1797, when the walls were torn down by Napoleon.
The long and rich history of the Jews of Venice will be remembered throughout 2016 with a series of events organized by the Venetian Jewish community and the city council.
Despite segregating them behind the Ghetto wall, the Most Serene Republic of Venice demonstrated relative tolerance towards Jews throughout its history, attracting thousands of them to the city from all over Europe and the Levant. Important personalities from the Jewish world passed through the walls of the Ghetto. Splendid synagogues were built there and it was in Venice that thousands of Jewish books were printed. The organizers' aim is to turn the place used in the past to marginalize Jews into a vehicle for the revitalization of today's dwindling Venetian Jewish community.
the beginnings
The Most Serene Republic of Venice, founded in the 7th century in the Venetian Lagoon, had great political influence on European history. It was a great maritime power during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, dominating the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean and, most importantly, the lucrative trade between Europe and the Levant. Serenissima reached its peak in the first half of the 15th century. At the time, its domains comprised part of Lombardy, Istria, Dalmatia and several overseas territories. The city's commercial power attracted merchants from all European and Mediterranean countries, including many Jews.
According to historians, the first evidence of a Jewish presence in Venice dates back to the end of the 10th century, although there are indications that its traders were already active in the city in previous centuries. The first documents date from 945 and 992, when the Senate prohibited vessels going to or coming from the East from taking Jews on board. Despite this prohibition, anti-Jewish attitudes on the part of the Republic were rare.
Ludovico Muratori, an 18th century Italian historian, wrote in his work Dissertazione that, in 1090, the name “Giudecca”1 was already used in the city. There are records of an audience granted, in 1314, by the then Doge, highest leader of the Republic of Venice, a Cretan Jew who was carrying a message from his brothers in Crete. But, until the end of the 14th century, the Jewish presence in the city was temporary and sporadic, despite the Serenissima's tolerance towards the presence of its bankers and merchants.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the fact that they had capital was of the greatest interest to rulers, in general, and Venice was no exception. There were countless economic advantages of the cities that allowed Jews to settle in their domains. In addition to the substantial capital contribution that stimulated the economy, they paid exorbitant annual taxes to grant licenses to remain and open banking houses. And, above all, governments could set interest rates and demand loans on favorable terms or even interest-free. Despite the Church prohibiting Christians from lending money at interest, the need to obtain loans had not disappeared for either the rulers or the ruled.
Aware of these advantages, the Venetian oligarchy that governed the city gradually positioned itself in favor of admitting Jews, especially after the wars against Genoa and Chioggia (1378 and 1381) emptied the state coffers.
One of the leaders of Quarantia2 proposed, in 1381, the admission of moneylenders into the city and, in the following year, Jews were allowed to enter. In 1385 the first “Condotta” was granted, an agreement between the Republic of Venice and Jewish bankers, which gave them permission to settle in Venice to lend money at interest. The 10-year agreement detailed the rules that these bankers had to follow. Among others, it established the high annual tax to be paid, the number of banks that could open and the interest rates they could charge. Venice gave them permission to elect their community leaders, but not to acquire properties in the city, carry out artistic or craft activities, nor hold public or military positions. The following year, 1386, the Senate granted them an isolated area of the Lido in which to bury their dead.
Still in 1385, Venice signed an agreement with Jewish bankers who lived in Mestre, located on dry land opposite the islands of Venice, so that they could grant loans at favorable rates to the poorest sections of the city. With this agreement, Serenissima managed to alleviate the poverty of the population and thus reduce the social tensions that had emerged after the wars, and, at the same time, direct the hostility of the masses against Jewish moneylenders.
The Condotta of 1385, however, was not renewed in 1394 under the pretext that the Jews were not following the rules imposed on their activities. It is likely that behind this attitude was the fear of its penetration into commerce. Expelled from Venice, the Jews spread to other cities in the Veneto region. The restrictive policy that prevented them from living in Venice did not extend to their overseas domains and the Italian peninsula.
The Republic's attitude towards the Jews was always ambivalent and there was constant discussion in the Senate whether or not to allow Jewish bankers to work and move freely in the city. They received permission to stay for a period of 15 days a month and those who lived in Mestre used this concession to work in Venice. But to be recognized as Jews, they were already obliged to wear a yellow circle on their clothing.
Despite being officially expelled, a series of decrees reveal that in the mid-15th century there were still Jews in Venice. In 1423, they were ordered to sell, within two years, the properties they owned in the city and in 1443 they were prohibited from maintaining schools of any type. On the other hand, in 1430, the Senate had determined that even the Jews of Corfu, who boarded Venetian ships, must wear the yellow circle on their clothes. In this way, the prohibition on transporting Jews and their merchandise on ships from the Venetian Republic was implicitly eliminated.
In the middle of the 15th century, there was a noticeable worsening of the situation of the Jews throughout Europe. Among the factors that caused the anti-Jewish climate was the crusade against usury and against the Jews waged by the Friars Minor (Franciscans), who created, in 1462, institutions to lend money without profit motive, the Monti di Pietà.
However, Venice and Mestre did not accept the establishment of the Monti di Pietá, nor did they subordinate their relations with the Jews to the 1442 determinations of Pope Eugene IV, who ordered the total physical separation between Jews and Christians. Furthermore, the Republic tried to avoid in its domains, not always successfully, the wave of intolerance and accusations of ritual murder towards the Jews that dominated Europe.
The creation of the Ghetto
The War of the League of Cambrai was the decisive moment in the history of the Jews of Venice. In December 1508, a military coalition was formed between France, the Holy Roman Empire and Spain to fight against Serenissima. England, Hungary, Savoy, Ferrara, Mantua and Florence were still part of the alliance. Pope Julius II joined the League in March 1509, integrating the Papal States. The League's objective was to halt the expansion of the Republic and, if possible, destroy it, dividing the rich spoils. In April 1509, seeing the advance of enemy armies, Jews residing in Mestre and other areas of Veneto fled to Venice. The latter had signed an agreement in 1503 with Mestre's bankers, which allowed them to take refuge in the city in the event of a war.
The Senate quickly realized that authorizing the Jews to remain in the city would bring great economic and financial benefits to the Republic, which were extremely necessary at such a difficult time. Just to give you an idea, the annual taxes that Jews would pay would heal the State's finances. In 1513, the authorities granted the Jewish banker Anselmo del Banco (Asher Meshullam), from Mestre, and his associates, permission to live and lend money in Venice.
However, the fact that the Republic had lost a large part of its territory and enemy troops had reached the gates of Lagoa created a climate of tension in relation to the Jewish population. In their preaching, the Franciscans said that the defeat was the result of sins committed by the Venetians, the most serious of which was allowing Jews to live freely in the city.
Two factions quickly emerged over the attitude to be taken towards the troublesome Jews: expel them or not? The arguments of those against expulsion were financial. In addition to the huge taxes they paid annually, they had made available, in the form of advantageous loans, large and indispensable sums to the Republic.
The Serenissima government resolved the “dilemma” by opting for mass segregation. On March 20, 1516, one of the members of the Council, after violently attacking the Jews verbally, asked that they be confined in the Ghetto Nuovo, located in the neighborhood of São Jerônimo. The Doge and Council approved the solution. If they wanted to continue to live in Venice, Jews would have to live together in a certain area, separated from the rest of the population. Anselmo del Banco and other bankers tried, futilely, to resist. On March 29, a decree created the Venice Ghetto:
“All Jews must live together, in the houses located around the courtyard that is located inside the ghetto in the parish of San Gerolano and, to prevent them from wandering at night within the limits of the Ghetto Nuovo and the Ghetto Vecchio, two access bridges... which will have gates that will be opened in the morning... and closed at midnight...”. On April 10, 1516, seven hundred Jews of German origin, Tedeschi, as they were called, and also of Italian origin, moved to the New Ghetto.
Most historians believe that the word “ghetto” was a Venetian dialect word, used at the time to refer to the foundries in the area. The word comes from the Italian term gettare (to pour). In the past, Ghetto Nuovo had been used to dump copper smelting waste, while Ghetto Vecchio was Venice's smelting zone.
Authorities “sealed” Ghetto Nuovo. Two walls were erected and all exits were closed. Doors and windows that opened to the outside were walled up, leaving only those that faced the courtyard open. During the day, Jews could go out, walk, and work freely around the city, but suffered severe penalties if they were found outside the ghetto at night. The Serenissima also decreed that Jews could not own the houses where they lived, nor any other establishment.
The space problem was huge and, as they were not allowed to build new buildings, the solution was to add floors above the existing ones. The establishment of the ghetto, however, did not imply an automatic right of residence, with permission to remain in the city – the Condottas – being negotiated every 5 years. To obtain it, the Jews had to offer new loans and donations to the government.
As we have seen, the Venetians' attitude towards the Jews was always ambivalent. While the Senate's decisions were influenced by the socioeconomic interests of the Republic, hostility towards the Jews was present in the daily lives of the population.
In 1537, the new agreement that increased the right of stay to 10 years was another milestone in the Jewish history of Venice. Despite the tensions, periodic threats of expulsion and systematic financial blackmail by the authorities, the legal permanence of its members in the city was guaranteed. Thus began a period of stabilization and flourishing of Jewish life, because, although segregated behind the walls of the ghetto, they lived better in Venice than anywhere else in Europe.
An analysis of the terms of the Condottas granted to Ashkenazic Jews shows that, over the decades, new clauses were included. The most important concerns the change in attitude towards the type of loans they were obliged to provide. The government had increased its role as a source of credit for the poor by reducing the interest rates that could be charged and increasing the number of pawnshops that should be available to the Christian population.
This attitude changed the profile of financial activity, from a voluntary activity of a few wealthy bankers to becoming a responsibility imposed on the Jewish community. As default among the poorest classes was high, the Jews living in Venice were unable to bear the costs of pawnshops and were forced to appeal to their co-religionists in Mestre, who began to contribute financially.
The arrival of Iberian Jews
After the expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1496, many of the travelers passing through Venice were Jews and Iberian converts. Some settled in the city, while others stayed for a while before heading to the Ottoman Empire. These Iberian merchants who settled in Venice came to be called “Levantini”.
The Republic was quick to recognize the economic power of the Levantines and when they complained about the difficult conditions in which they were forced to live, in the Ghetto Nuovo, due to the lack of space, the Senate granted them, in June 1541, an adjacent area , called Ghetto Vecchio.
Although the Venetian government was Catholic and concerned about the faith of the population, it did not care about the fact that countless Iberian converts, upon arriving in Venice, went straight to the Ghetto and began to live there openly as Jews. At least officially, he did not tolerate converts living outside the Ghetto, posing as Catholics while secretly practicing Judaism.
Despite the Pope having repeatedly warned the Republic about the presence in the city of new Christians who had returned to openly following Judaism, Venice maintained great tolerance towards Jews and converts who arrived in the city. Even the establishment of the modern Roman Inquisition Tribunal, created in 1542 and subordinate to the Vatican, proved difficult. The Church and Venice butted heads, differing in relation to the function, management and composition of the new institution and the Serenissima's attitude towards the Jews. Only in 1548, a reluctant Venice gave in to papal pressure and the Inquisition settled in the city. And, once in the 16th century, in 1550, apparently under pressure from Emperor Charles V, the Venetian government acted against the Iberian converts, forbidding them from settling in the Republic's domains. The measure was short-lived and, despite pressure from the papal nuncio and the Inquisition, the city continued to serve as a refuge for those who wanted to return to Judaism.
The cause of the converted merchants was defended before the Venetian Senate in 1579 by Daniel Rodriga, a wealthy Portuguese Jew who had helped Venice open the port of Split. Rodriga presented a series of projects that aimed to restore the city's then-declining maritime trade, while simultaneously benefiting Jewish merchants and, above all, obtaining them privileges in Venice.
Rodriga pointed to the fact that the contact network of Iberian converts in Mediterranean ports was vast and that if they were offered security guarantees, these merchants would bring their goods to the city, increasing their customs revenue and allowing Venice to have economic growth. and maintained its function as a commercial warehouse.
After several years, in the end, Rodriga's persistence was rewarded. The war waged by Venice against the Ottoman Empire had emptied the public coffers. Maritime trade was moribund, as it had become risky due to piracy, and the Venetian nobility refused to face the new dangers. In 1589, faced with commercial decline, the Senate promulgated a new Condotta. This agreement gave converso merchants from the Iberian Peninsula, called “ponteninos”, permission to reside in Venice and practice their Judaism openly, also giving them immunity from the Inquisition regarding their past. Condotta extended permission to stay to “Levantine” Jews. It was up to these two groups to act in trade between Venice and the Levant.
The new Condotta maintained their obligation to live in the Ghetto and the prohibition on being outside its walls at night. Only doctors caring for Christians, merchants who had work commitments or Jews in emergency situations could be absent from the Ghetto during the night. It was also mandatory to wear a yellow hat, an important element in the segregation policy adopted by the government. Over time, the color became red, although the Levantines continued to use yellow.
The commercial flourishing resulting from the presence of the Sephardim in the city caused Venice to grant them successive Condottas. The wealth of the Jews of the Levantine-Ponentine Nation became famous throughout Europe. In 1607, an English chronicler describing the Sephardim of Venice said: “... Among many Jewish women, some were the most beautiful I saw in my life... and so elegant in their dresses... their gold chains and their rings with precious stones, with which English countesses would have difficulty competing...”.
In 1633, Jews assured the Venetian government that more merchants would come to Venice if they were granted a suitable place to live. The authorities then allocated an area with 20 houses along the canal, starting from Gueto Novo in a direction almost opposite to Gueto Velho, a place that would come to be known as Gueto Novíssimo. There was a fundamental difference from the other two. While the name of the other two was used before the settlement of the Jews and owes its origin to an old foundry that existed there, Ghetto Novíssimo was never associated with any foundry. It was so called because it was the new compulsory Jewish neighborhood. Thus, the term ghetto came full circle in the city of its origin: from its original specific use as a foundry in Venice to the generic use there and in other cities to designate a segregated, delimited and compulsory region of Jewish housing.
Life in the ghetto
Inside the ghetto, in the perimeter made up of three interconnected neighborhoods - Ghetto Nuovo, Vecchio and Nuovissimo - the Jews created a heterogeneous community made up of German, Italian, French, Levantine, Spanish and Portuguese Ashkenazites, as well as converts and visitors from all over of the Jewish world.
Lack of space was a general problem. According to the most conservative data, in 1560 there were 1.424 Jews living there. At the end of the century there were around 2 thousand, approximately 1,5% of the city's total population; reaching 4-5 thousand in the mid-17th century. Unable to expand horizontally, the ghetto grew vertically. Buildings became taller and apartments became smaller. Floors were built above existing ones and 2-story houses had up to 8 floors added.
If wealth divided the ghetto horizontally, determining which floor someone could live on and how many meters they could have, the origin of those who lived there divided it vertically. For the Venetian authorities, the Jewish community was separated into two Nations, each being regulated by specific Condottas: the Germans and the Levantine-Pontineans. But this official division did not reflect the complexity of the community. The German Nation included, in addition to Ashkenazi Jews originating from German-speaking countries, also Italians and French. And, the Levantines and the Pontines were independent communities.
Synagogues, called Scuole (literally, schools, “houses of teaching”), constituted the center of life for the Venetian Jew in the ghetto. Intramurally, each group established its synagogue, a center of convergence and the main manifestation of its identity.
The ghetto's five main synagogues are in Baroque-Renaissance style and depict the Golden Age of Venetian Judaism. The facades are discreet, but the interiors are sumptuous, despite the use of “noble” materials, such as marble, being prohibited by the authorities, who only allowed those considered “poor”, such as wood, and trompe l'oeil paintings, imitating marble. The first synagogues in Ghetto Nuovo were built on the highest floors, partly for security reasons, but also because the solution met the specifications of Jewish law and the determinations of the Serenissima.
Three synagogues are located in Gueto Novo. Two were of the Ashkenazi rite: the Scuola Grande Tedesca, the first synagogue to be inaugurated, in 1528-29, and the Scuola Canton, built in 1531-32, which was probably founded by Jews from Provence, who decided to separate from the Germans . The Scuola Italiana, the third, was founded in 1575 and brought together Italian Jews who followed their own rite.
It is in the Ghetto Vecchio, in the Campiello delle Scuole, that the two Sephardic synagogues are located: the Scuola Grande Spagnola, of the Pontinos, and the Scuola Levantina. The exterior elegance and sumptuous interior of the two reflect the stability and wealth experienced by the Jews of Venice in the 17th century.
According to oral tradition, the Levantine synagogue was built in 1538, three years before the official entry of Jews of that origin into the ghetto. A document from 1680 attests to the demolition of the old structure to build a larger one.
The Scuola Spagnola, officially called Kahal Kadosh Talmud Torah, is the largest, most sumptuous and best-known of the Venetian synagogues. It served as a model for the Sephardic community in Amsterdam. Although there are no documents attesting to the date, it is believed to have been founded around 1580 and rebuilt, according to oral tradition, in 1635.
Some prominent religious personalities lived in the Venice ghetto, the best known being Rabbi Leon Modena (1571-1648), author of numerous works, including an autobiography in Hebrew, which reveals the daily life and religious practices of the Jews of Venice. of his time, including his vast relationship with his Christian neighbors.
Another important personality, a contemporary of Modena, was Rabbi Simone Luzzatto (1583-1663). He is remembered mainly for his Discorso sopra il stato degl'Ebrei et in particular delaynti nel'inclita citti di Venetia (Discourse on the Status of the Jews and in Particular of Those Living in the Illustrious City of Venice, 1638). Written in Italian and addressed to the Venetian nobility, it aimed to prevent the expulsion of the Jews. In his work, Luzatto reveals important information about the economic and commercial situation of his supporters.
The presence of renowned Jewish doctors, attracted by the proximity to the Padua School of Medicine, was also significant in Venice. The fact that the School admitted Jewish students was of great importance as it was considered the best in Europe of its kind.
Hebrew printing
Venice emerged in the 16th century as a major center of printing not only in Italian, Latin, and Greek, but also in Hebrew, Judeo-Italian, Ladino, and Yiddish. He had, in fact, an important role in the early history of printing and publishing in Hebrew, having contributed widely to Jewish education and culture.
One of the main publishers of books in Hebrew in Renaissance Venice was Daniel Bomberg, a Christian from Antwerp, who printed important works in that language. In 1516, Bomberg published the Pentateuch, the first in a long series of publications that would make him one of the greatest editors of his time.
Of great importance was also the publication of the complete edition of the Babylonian Talmud (1520-1523) with commentaries by Rashi and Tosafists, whose format and pagination served as a model for later publications, as well as the Jerusalem Talmud. For more than 30 years, as Cecil Roth wrote in his work, Jewish books continued to be published. “It is difficult to say whether they were more worthy of praise for the fineness of the paper, the beauty of the letters or the excellence of the matter.”
One of the rare moments of harmony between the Church and the Republic led, on October 21, 1553, to the burning of Hebrew books in St. Mark's Square, which was a great loss for the Jewish community and Christian publishers. The Jews of Venice did not passively accept the Church's ban on Jewish books and, with pressure and donations, obtained some flexibility in the papal decree. In October 1554, a decree from Pope Julius III stopped the “hunt” for Jewish books, once again allowing the possession of works in Hebrew.
As a result of the papal measure, in 1560, in Venice, publishers restarted their activities. It is estimated that of the 3.986 Hebrew books printed in Europe before 1650, about a third, 1.284, were printed in Venice.
the decline
In the 18th century, both Serenissima and the Jewish community saw their economic power decline drastically. The bubonic plague that struck Venice in 1630 and resulted in the deaths of 50 people, a third of the population, affected the city's socioeconomic conditions. Particularly impacted were large Jewish traders who, due to fear of infection, had to suspend the import and export of goods, and saw their stocks being burned. If that wasn't enough, they were forced to pay exorbitant new taxes. To make matters worse, in 1645, Venice and the Ottoman Empire once again clashed militarily, further hampering maritime trade.
The long period of crisis was disastrous for the entire population, whose poverty grew, creating great pressure on Jewish-owned banks. The Venetian government had great concerns, especially because it needed a Jewish community in a good state of creditworthiness to operate the pawnshops. The banking crisis had caused financial bleeding in the Jewish community in the last 30 years of the 17th century, creating a paradoxical situation: their debts constituted a more powerful shield against expulsion than all their past wealth. Consequently, in 1722 the authorities created the Magistrate of the Inquisitorato sopra l'Universitá a degli Ebrei, with the aim of restoring and maintaining the liquidity of the community. During the remainder of the century, this Magistrate created, together with the Senate, a series of regulations in an attempt to promote the operation of pawnshops, as a way of achieving the settlement of the Jewish community's substantial debts with Venetian Christians and other Jewish communities of Amsterdam, The Hague and London. The authorities wanted to restore the Jewish community's liquidity capacity, but ended up closely supervising all daily aspects of its financial affairs.
In 1738, the Condottas granted to German, Levantine and Pontine Jews, until then separate, were unified for another 10 years. The measure was more than necessary, as the distinct economic activities and responsibilities relating to the two groups of Jews had merged over time. Jewish merchants had long been making payments by contributing financially to the pawnshops of German Jews, and since 1634 they had participated in maritime trade with the Levant.
In 1797, seeing the advance of Napoleon's troops, the Jewish community offered silver and gold to the Republic in a last-ditch effort to save Venice. On April 6, the Venetian Senate issues them a decree of thanks, one of the last acts of the Serenissima.
In May, the French armies were already on the banks of the Lagoon and the Venetian Republic self-dissolved. On May 12, the city was handed over to Napoleon.
On July 7, the municipal government, which had taken over the government, ordered that the Ghetto gates be torn down and all differences and separations between the Jews and the rest of the population removed. In the courtyard of the New Ghetto the Jews sang and danced celebrating their freedom and the arrival of Napoleon. The history of the Ghetto had come to an end, and the history of Venetian Jews as citizens began – a still troubled history. Despite never having to live in the ghetto again, Jews were only definitively emancipated, starting to enjoy equal rights with other segments of the population, in 1866, when Venice became part of the Kingdom of Italy.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Prof. Tramontana, Giuseppe, Gli Ebrei Veneziani E L'inquisizione A Meta' Del '500. www.tuttostoria.net/
Simonsohn, Shlomo, La condizione giuridica degli ebrei nell'Italia centrale e settentrionale (secoli XII- XIV), in Storia d'Italia, Gli Ebrei in Italia, Ed. Einaudi
Radaelli, Matteo, Nuovi cristiani portaghesi ed ebrei ponentini a Venezia nel XVI secolo. Kindle
Curiel Roberta and Cooperman Bernard Dov, The Venetian Ghetto, Ed. Rizzoli
