Renaissance synagogues being restored in Venice’s ghetto

Venice’s Jewish ghetto is considered the first in Europe and one of the first in the world, and a new effort is underway to preserve its 16th-century synagogues for the Jews who have remained and tours who pass through.
For nearly two years, restorers have been peeling away paint and discovering the original foundations of three of the ghetto’s synagogues, which are considered the only Renaissance synagogues still in use, art horian David Landau said.
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Landau is spearheading the fundraising effort to restore the synagogues and near buildings both for Venice’s small Jewish community, which numbers around 450 people, and for tours who can visit them on a guided tour through the Jewish Museum of Venice.Best of Express PremiumPremiumPremiumPremiumPremium
The Spanish Schola, founded about 1580, but rebuilt in the first half of the 17th century, is the biggest of the Venetian synagogues. (AP Photo/Chris Warde-Jones)
“I was really deeply offended the state of the synagogues,” said Landau, a Renaissance special who bought a home in Venice 12 years ago. “I felt that the synagogues were in very bad condition. They had been altered beyond recognition over the centuries, and needed to be kind of cared for and loved.”

He has secured about 5 million euros to date and expects workers can complete the restoration process the end of 2023 if the rest of the funding comes through, although the original outstanding 4 million euros has now ballooned to 6 million euros because of soaring building costs.
Interiors of the 1528 Great German Schola Synagogue, of Ashkenazi rite, are seen in this picture taken in Venice, northern Italy. (AP Photo/Chris Warde-Jones)
Venice’s ghetto dates from 1516, when the republic forced the growing numbers of Jews into the drict where the old foundries, or “geti” as they were known, had been located. The area, which was locked down at night, became what is considered Europe’s first ghetto and remains the hub of Venice’s Jewish community in the Cannaregio area.
A sign in both Italian and Hebrew shows the way to the Jewish ghetto in Venice, northern Italy. (AP Photo/Chris Warde-Jones)
The first synagogue dates from 1528 and was built German Ashkenazi Jews. Others followed and served different groups, including one for Spanish Sephardic Jews and one for Italian Jews.
None is visible from the street, as strict rules imposed Venice’s rulers didn’t allow Jews to practice their faith openly. All the synagogues are hidden away on the top floors of seemingly normal buildings that on the lower levels held cramped living spaces for Jewish families.
Rita Ranzato, an art restorer, uses a scalpel to take away layers of old paint from a stuccoed wall inside the 1575 Italian Schola Synagogue in Venice. (AP Photo/Chris Warde-Jones)
The synagogues have remained operational continuously, except for the years of World War II during the German occupation.
The head of Venice’s Jewish community, Dario Calimani, said the restoration project was necessary both to maintain the religious and cultural life of Venice’s Jews today and to preserve the community’s hory.
“They are a testimony to the life that it was, to the hory of our community, small community,” he said.
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