A New Museum Explores 2,000 Years of Jewish Life in Italy

Fascinating, enlightening. If only "other" haters READ more rather than watch TV! We aren't all "good people." Jews of ancient times had leaders. Their civilization was marked by scholarship and traditional values. WE seem to have none; led by no one with moral political authority.

“Museo Nazionale dell’Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah.” I should think that Shoah is, in Italian, phonetically spelled Scioa.

Thank you for this article, which for me is very timely. I am in Bologna for this week and will take the train to see the museum.

While visiting Rome in 1984 with my Jewish aunt, we noticed a small graffito in Hebrew on the inside of the Arch of Titus. She translated it for me: Am Yisrqel Chai; the people of Israel live forever.

“After passing a replica of the Arch of Titus, commemorating Rome’s victory over Jerusalem, and depicting soldiers carrying the seven-branched menorah...” Not just a Roman victory, but the destruction of the Judean fortress of Masada, enslavement of the Jews and the First Disapora at Roman hands, as ordered by the Emperor Titus. It bears mentioning that Titus’s predecessor as Emperor, his father, Vespasian, a former general and first commoner to rise to the imperial throne, was well disposed toward Jews, and counted a number of them among his friends. In the contrast between father and son lies a lesson as to the dangers of hereditary succession and the easy availability of power without proper constitutional and societal vetting of its leaders.

I'm glad to see the online article has corrected the error in the name Este that I found it in my printed copy of today's paper.

Another gripping book (a page-turner!) about the last 23 months of WWII for Jews in Italy is Mark Sullivan’s Beneath A Scarlet Sky, in which he traces (novelistically) the history of Pino Lella, a real but unknown Jewish hero.

A wonderful book entitled 'It Happened in Italy" is a true account of how Italians saved the lives of many Italian Jews during the Holocaust. In fact, the murder of Italian Jews would have been far fewer if unconditional surrender was not imposed on Italy by Churchill. The consequence of what followed was the brutal Nazi occupation of the Italian peninsula, and deportation of Italian Jews late in the war ultimately to their deaths. As an Italian-American who has spent much time learning about Italian Jewry, this is a welcome article about Italy, immigrants, and religious minorities in a contemporary world that seems to be reversing course in the progress of our shared and fragile humanity. Thank you!

An old friend of mine wrote a book of his childhood that details how his mother hid Jews in their home during WWII. Suffer the Children – Growing Up in Italy during Word War II Paperback – September 17, 2008

One of the reasons why Jews in Italy fared well during the holocaust, was simply Italians have generally viewed Jews as fellow Italians. An attack on a Jewish neighbor was an attack on themselves.

Every time I've walked under the Arch of Titus in Rome I get a chill no matter the season.

Great article. Coincidentally, I just watched (Netflix DVD) "My Italian Secret: The Forgotten Heroes" (2015), documentary about the extraordinary efforts Italians went to, to hide Jews from the Fascists and Nazis. Included in the effort was famous cycling champ Gino Bartali who shuttled forged identity papers in the tube of his bike frame.

At a time when anti-semitism is rearing it ugly visage even among the so-called intelligentsia, thank you for a well-written and uplifting article. I found commentary about the sanctity of Jewish grave sites informative, especially since the Jewish cemetery in my father's native Prague has been "cleaned up" beyond recognition. A blessing to all.

According to a research study by Harvard, the biases built centuries back become almost genetic and govern people's behavior till date. I wonder even if we erase who we are, how much these biases will continue playing the role in suffocating well-being and progress. This makes me wonder whether it is a good idea to encourage the policy of suppressing the racial information.

I have been there..(I am an American living in Rome)....it is a very interesting place and the cemetery is an eye opener because of its beauty. Additionally, I discovered the burial plots of an American family (that I knew peripherally from the US) and was astonished to see that they were Jewish and from the region. The elders in the family are buried there after having moved to the US before the wars. Incredibly interesting. Of course, one can question why such an outstanding project is in Ferrara which of course, is out of the way. (The day I was there...middle of March--I was the ONLY person in the Museum other than the guards and employees.) Unfortunate because it is definitely worth seeing--I have seen all the Jewish museums in Europe--this is among the best and likely to get better, but one does have to question the location because so many people wont get there.

Congratulations for a well written piece. The quote about turning a former dark prison into a place of light and openness spoke to me. The story of the Jews in Italy is enlightening, heart-breaking, and heart-opening. The photographs by Susan Wright are clear vivid visuals statements. Could not be better.

I'm surprised that they did not color the piece from the Titus Arch. It's been known for some time that it was gilded and painted (traces of pigments have been detected, even after 2,000 years). A properly colored one side by side with the uncolored replica would be interesting.

You can't help but notice the difference Italians made during the Holocaust as mentioned in this article. Over 44,000 Jews lived in Italy and over 7,000 perished. Which means most were saved. The Italian people deserve much thanks! This article on the museum is another wonderful piece adding to history a story not known well. Well done.

Many people of Italian descent (including myself - my screen name is a nome de plume) find 2-5 percent Jewsh DNA when doing the online DNA tests that are all the rage now. The tests are correct, as the article states, many Jews came to Italy, especially Sicily, as slaves. Sicily was "the bread basket of Rome" and Jews were slaves in the fields and in the industry overall. It is why many italian Jews later wbecame flour merchants bakers, pastry shops and many Italian surnames are flour related (Farina). Like Spain there is a history of "Coversos" , Jews that were forced to convert to Catholicism and assimilate or move, after the "Edict Of Sicily of 1492" when lower Italy/Sicily was well under the rule of the Spanish Empire. Many families forgot their past but retained the names and customs/Jewish occupations (fabric/dyeing, merchants etc.). Many spread to other countries where their Italian names were translated into said countries languages (Oliviera to "Oliver" (as in John Oliver) or Palomba to "Dove" (as in Arthur Dove) in England for example. Notice the name "Cladia Aster" Aster meaning "Star" in Latin the Roman language. In Italian it is translated to "Stella" a very common Italian suname (like the painter Frank Stella who is very likely of Italian Jewish descent).

When you (the author) say "Old Testament" are you referring to the Christian Bible or the Hebrew Bible?

Where's the Simon of Trent exhibit?

I remember once going to a very learned rabbi and asking him what to do about the London grave of my grandfather that was falling into disrepair who had suffered grievously from the Nazis. He told me to do only as much as was needed to preserve it, “that place is holy.”

"The Italian peninsula witnessed serial conquerors — Romans, Goths, Byzantines Longobards and Muslims — who are all gone." What does this mean? Last I noticed, the Romans at the very least were still in Italy.

Italian Jews had their own dialects, which by now are mostly gone, In Ferrara and elsewhere in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna, the Jewish dialects were quite different from the local dialects. http://jochnowitz.net/Essays/Judeo-Italian.html

I wonder how often (if ever) people in these countries that discriminated so much against Jews ever think about what they lost by doing so. Spain had a Golden Age, but their country didn't flourish until long after the Spanish Inquisition (1492-1810) was over. Discrimination hurts all of us.

Point of Order: "the Inquisition and persecution by the Church" The Church properly refers to all the body of believers of Jesus Christ- not the Roman Catholic Church- which was established by the Roman Empire and persecuted Christians who did not fall in line as well. Not all Christians believe Catholic doctrine and that extends way back to before the Catholic Church was created by the Roman Empire. The phrase "the Inquisition and persecution by the Catholic Church" would be proper.

This is fabulous to read - deeply appreciate the Times in-depth coverage.