The Cherasco Synagogue is the old

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

of the Jewish community of

Cherasco Cherasco is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian ...

, Italy.

History

A Jewish community, engaged in silk production and banking, is recorded in Cherasco from the 16th century onward. A

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished t ...

was defined in 1723, but Jews continued to live outside the ghetto. In 1813, Abramo (Abraham) Debenedetti served on the town council. Emilio Debenedetti, an engineer, designed and constructed the town electrical system.Sacerdoti, p. 30 The Cherasco synagogue is of uncertain date. A date of 5557 (1797) on a stone plaque above a stone basin for ritual washing on a staircase may refer to the date of the synagogue's construction, or of a renovation. The Cherasco Synagogue is one of about sixteen that survive in

Piedmont it, Piemontese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, including the

Synagogue of Casale Monferrato The Synagogue of Casale Monferrato is a 16th-century synagogue located in Vicolo Salmone Olper in the traditionally Jewish quarter of Casale Monferrato, Province of Alessandria, region of Piedmont, Italy. History The synagogue was built in 1595 a ...

, the Biella Synagogue and the

Vercelli Synagogue The Vercelli Synagogue ( it, Tempio Israelitico) is a synagogue in Vercelli, Italy. The synagogue, located at Via Foà 70, was built in 1878. It was designed by Marco Treves, an architect born in Vercelli who also designed the Great Synagogue of ...

. The synagogue has been preserved, but is no longer in use. It is sometimes open to visitors.

Architecture

The small synagogue is lit by windows overlooking the courtyard. The courtyard location concealed within a residential building is typical of synagogues built in pre-modern Italy. It was a precautionary measure taken so that none of the sounds of Jewish worship should reach Christian ears and possibly provoke a

pogrom A pogrom () is a violent riot incited with the aim of massacring or expelling an ethnic or religious group, particularly Jews. The term entered the English language from Russian to describe 19th- and 20th-century attacks on Jews in the Russia ...

or repressive anti-Jewish measures. This location also permitted Jews to enter the synagogue without going outside the ghetto. The 18th-century late-Baroque

Torah ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

and '' bimah'' feature the twisted

Solomonic columns The Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helix, helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew. It is not associated with a specific classical order, although most examples have Corinthian order, Cor ...

long popular in Italian synagogues. The doors of the ark feature the Ten Commandments in gilded lettering. The "elegant" free-standing

octagon In geometry, an octagon (from the Greek ὀκτάγωνον ''oktágōnon'', "eight angles") is an eight-sided polygon or 8-gon. A '' regular octagon'' has Schläfli symbol and can also be constructed as a quasiregular truncated square, t, whi ...

al ''bimah'' is of carved wood with two sides open to allow access, and an elaborately painted and gilded

baldachin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

. Benches for seating are arranged along the walls of the small synagogue. Decorative wall inscriptions include the names of families who once lived in Cherasco. There is a women's gallery, and a room that once was the school of the small Jewish community. As of 2003, the schoolroom contained an exhibition on "Jewish Life and Culture - Photographic Documentation of the Jewish Presence in the 18th and 19th Centuries," curated by Giorgio Avigdor in 1984.

References

Sources

External links

* {{official website, http://www.cherasco1796.org/synagogue.asp - De Benedetti - Cherasco 1547 Foundation]
Gallery of pictures of the synagogue after restoration
De Benedetti - Cherasco 1547 Foundation
Image of the Cherasco Synagogue bimah
Synagogues completed in the 1790s Baroque synagogues in Italy Buildings and structures in the Province of Cuneo Synagogues in Piedmont Tourist attractions in Piedmont Cherasco