Unlike most of the rest of Italy, much of the period from the Early Middle Ages up to the beginning of the modern age (around 500-1500CE) is hidden here in this southern part of Italy. Jewish life began here with the generation of Jews deported by the Romans at the time of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in 70CE and continued for centuries up until the definitive expulsion of the Jews from the Kingdom of Naples in 1541. This Jewish Historical Seminar will concentrate on the region of Puglia. Our study will take us to Lecce, Otranto, Oria, Bari, Trani, Taranto, and Matera, where we will visit sites of Jewish interest and see the most important relics of the Jewish past. Our seminar will reveal the long-overlooked or almost forgotten cultural heritage of communities in Puglia that have long ceased to exist, and whose memory has nearly faded. We will uncover neglected chapters in ancient, medieval, and early modern Jewish history essential for properly understanding communities that emerged and rose to prominence elsewhere in Europe.

 

Mon, Nov 2:      Arrival in Bari, a port city on the Adriatic Sea and the capital of the southern Italian

                           Puglia region.

                           Late afternoon: Walking tour of Bari, followed by an orientation and dinner.                BARI                                                                     

Tue, Nov 3:        Lecture on the bus: The Settlement of Jewish Communities in Ancient and

                           Medieval Puglia, F. Lelli             

                           Travel to Taranto to visit the National Archaeological Museum to see the Jewish

                           Tombstones.

                           Drive around the lovely town of Oria.  Wine tasting in the kosher winery, Cantine Leuci.

                           Continue to Lecce, known as the “Florence of the South”, with its stunning

                           baroque historic center.                                                                                                      LECCE

                            

Thu, Nov 5:        Lecture: Medieval Hebrew Manuscripts and Early Printed Books Between Rome,                                                        Puglia, and Calabria, S. Sabar

                           Travel to Galatina to visit the 14th-century Basilica di Santa Caterina

                           d’Alessandria, a treasure of art and ancient times with magnificent frescoes.

                           A vegetarian lunch in the Masseria le Stanzie (“farm to table”).

                           Continue to Otranto to the Museo Diocesano that hosts Puglia's most ancient Jewish

                           funerary epigraph, “Glyka’s Stele.”                                                    

                           Visit the Cathedral di Santa Maria Annunziata with the ornate mosaic flooring.          LECCE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Fri, Nov 6:          Travel via Ostuni, known as the “White City” with its white-washed houses                                                                 and historic charm. 

                           Visit an olive orchard for olive tasting.

                           Travel to the World Heritage site Alberobello, a small town known for its trulli,

                           whitewashed stone huts with conical roofs.

                           Continue to Trani, known as the “Pearl of Puglia,” where there was a major

                           Jewish community.

                           Shabbat Services in the medieval synagogue, Scola Nova followed by

                           Shabbat dinner.                                                                                                                  TRANI                                                                                                                                                                    

Sat, Nov 7:         Shabbat Services in the Scola Nova synagogue.

                           Shabbat lunch.                                 

                           Walking tour of the Jewish quarter and visit the Sinagoga Museo Sant’Anna

                           formally called the Scola Grande, built in 1247, and one of the four synagogue

                           buildings that survived.                                                                                                      TRANI                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Sun, Nov 8:        Travel to visit Castel del Monte, a 13th-century citadel and castle, and a renowned

                           masterpiece of medieval architecture.  Today, it is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

                           Travel to Matera, a city on a rocky outcrop in the region of Basilicata.                   MATERA                                                                                                                                              

 

Mon, Nov 9:      Lecture: DP Transit Camps in Post-war Puglia, F. Lelli

                           Lecture: From Trani to Corfu: Continuity and Transformation in Apulian Jewry - 

                           Synagogues and Rabbis, Wedding Customs and Ketubbot, S. Sabar

                           Tour Matera, with the Sassi area, is a complex of cave dwellings carved into the

                           mountainside, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

                           Visit Casa Noha to learn the history of Matera.

                           A specially prepared dinner in the cave restaurant, Baccanti.                                   MATERA                                                                                                                                                          

                          

Tue, Nov 10:       Transfer to the Bari airport for departure.   

                    

                                            PROGRAM SUBJECT TO CHANGE

 

 Lecturers:

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

                                                                The Hebrew University of Jerusalem

         Prof. Fabrizio Lelli, Hebrew language and literature at the “La Sapienza” University of Rome, Italy