Jews have lived in Rome since the Second Century before the Common Era – the most extended continuous history of any European Jewish community. Once Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire in the fourth century, Jews were tolerated, closely monitored, and heavily taxed. With the establishment of the Papacy in Rome, the Jewish presence was allowed to continue. Pope Innocent III (1198-1216) established the outlines of the Papal State as they were to remain until the newly united Kingdom of Italy absorbed it in 1870. By making good his claims to the March of Ancona and to the Duchy of Spoleto, Innocent helped to secure a wide swath of territory extending diagonally across central Italy from the Tyrrhenian to the Adriatic Sea. Rather later, in 1278, the Papacy was to obtain formal recognition of its temporal sovereignty over the province of Romagna (and then Emilia in the fifteenth century). From the thirteenth century, the Popes began to consider Jews as perpetual servants, which sanctioned the boundaries of an essentially stable judicial status. Jews continued to settle throughout the Papal State, which at this time included large parts of Umbria. By the mid-sixteenth century, Pope Paul IV initiated a series of ghettos that enclosed the Jews in specific neighborhoods. Travelling through the papal territory, we will study how the Jews created resourceful and versatile communal strategies for economic, social, and intellectual development, despite these enclosures. We will visit the Jewish sites (and sites of general interest), continually reflecting on the ambivalent relationship between the heads of the Catholic church and the Jews who chose to live under their rule.

 

Sun           Arrival in Rome, the capital city of Italy, known for its ancient ruins, world-class art and timeless

Jun 28      landmarks.                                                                                                                                     ROME

 

Mon          Orientation followed by a Lecture: The Popes and the Jews: An Ambivalent Relationship,

Jun 29      K. Aron-Beller

                  Lecture: Jews among Pagans and Early Christians: Art and Life in Late Antique Rome, S. Sabar                          Visit the synagogue and the Jewish Ghetto established in 1555, and today a vibrant Jewish                                  Quarter.

                  Tour the Jewish Catacombs used by the Jewish community during the Roman period, Empire,                            and unique in the extent of decoration. Kosher dinner                                                             ROME

 

Tue            Lecture: The Sixteenth Century: Paul IV, the Church, and Incipient Modernity, K. Aron-Beller

Jun 30      Lecture: The Jew as the “Other”: Changing Images of Jews in the Art of the Papal States,

                   S. Sabar

                   Visit the Sistine Chapel, the most famous chapel inside the Vatican, decorated by the incredible                           works of art by Michelangelo.

                   Hopefully visit the Vatican Library, a treasure trove of knowledge.                                         ROME

 

Wed           Depart to Urbino, a walled city known for its UNESCO World Heritage Centre.

Jul 1           Lecture on the bus: The Papal Inquisition: The Professing Jew and the Marrano, K. Aron-Beller                           Visit the synagogue and the Galleria Nazionale with important Italian Renaissance artworks                                 housed in the magnificent rooms of a 15th-century palace.                              AREA OF URBINO

 

Thu            Lecture: From Ashkenaz and Sepharad to Italia: Hebrew Book Illumination in Renaissance Italy,

Jul 2          S. Sabar

                   Depart for Ancona, the capital of Le Marche and its largest port to visit the ghetto and the                                   synagogues.

                   Continue to Senigallia to see the synagogue and the ghetto.

                   Travel to the seaside resort of Pesaro where we visit the ghetto and Sephardi synagogue.

                                                                                                                                                      AREA OF URBINO 

 

Fri              Depart for Bologna, a hidden gem and historic capital of the Emilia-Romagna region.

Jul 3          Travel via Bertinoro, the birthplace of the famous Mishnah commentator, R. Ovadiah of                                       Bertinoro, to visit the Jewish Ghetto

                   Continue to Ravenna to visit the superb mosaics from the Byzantine period.

                   Return to Bologna for Shabbat services followed by a kosher dinner.                             BOLOGNA

 

Sat.             Shabbat Services followed by kosher lunch.

Jul 4           Visit the historical squares of Bologna: Piazza Maggiore, Piazza del Nettuno, Piazza di Porta                                Ravegnana.                                                                                                                           BOLOGNA

 

Sun             Lecture: The Jews’ Emancipation and the Papacy, K. Aron-Beller

Jul 5            Lecture: From Birth to Marriage: Jewish Family Life in Renaissance and Baroque Italy, S. Sabar                          Tour the historical center. Visit sites of Jewish interest, starting in via De’Gombruti and continue                        to the old ghetto. Visit the Jewish Museum.                                                                     BOLOGNA

 

Mon            Lecture: The Popes, the Holocaust and Genocide, K. Aron-Beller

Jul 6           Travel to Parma to visit the old city, the synagogue, and the Biblioteca Palatina.

                    Continue to Modena to visit the synagogue and Jewish Ghetto.                                   BOLOGNA

 

Tue              Lecture: Splendor on Parchment: The Magnificent Ketubbot of Rome and the Papal States,

Jul 7            S. Sabar

                    Travel to Ferrara, a World Heritage Site, and the medieval centre. Visit the synagogue built in                              1481 and the ghetto.

                     Continue to the National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS).

                     Return to Bologna for a kosher or vegetarian Farewell dinner.                                      BOLOGNA

 

Wed             Transfer to the airport for departure.

Jul 8

                                                       PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

 

Lecturers:     Prof. Shalom Sabar (Emeritus), Dept of Art History/Dept of Folklore and Folk Culture,

                                                          The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

                      Dr. Kathy Aron-Beller, Lecturer in Jewish History at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem

                                                             and Tel Aviv University