The Ferrara Ghetto was established by an edict of Cardinal Cennini dated 23 August 1624, in one of the oldest areas of the city, a short distance from the Cathedral of San Giorgio (Ferrara) and the

Castello Estense The ' ('House of Este, Este castle') or ' ('St. Michael's castle') is a moated medieval castle in the center of Ferrara, northern Italy. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. History On 3 May 1385, the Ferrarese people, driven ...

. It was permanently closed in 1859. Ferrara - Ghetto - Andrea Bolzoni

History

The Jewish presence in Ferrara predates the establishment of the ghetto by centuries. When it was imposed in 1627 about 1,500 Jews lived in Ferrara. The closure of the ghetto lasted over a century. The gates that the French occupation opened in 1796 closed again in 1826, albeit with less strict rules, until the unity of Italy in 1861.

The Ghetto during Fascism

Even after its closure, it remained the centre of life for Ferrara's Jewish community, which

Giorgio Bassani Giorgio Bassani (Bologna, 4 March 1916 – Rome, 13 April 2000) was an Italians, Italian novelist, poet, essayist, editor, and international intellectual. Biography Bassani was born in Bologna into a prosperous Jewish family of Ferrara, where h ...

immortalised in his novels, '' Il giardino dei Finzi-Contini'' and ''Cinque storie ferraresi''. After 1938, with the entry into force of the Fascist racial laws, the situation of Jews throughout Italy changed radically. In particular, in Ferrara, Jews continued to arrive from other provinces, thinking they would find a safer environment (thanks to the presence of

Italo Balbo Italo Balbo (6 June 1896 – 28 June 1940) was an Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Italian fascist politician and Blackshirts' leader who served as Italy's Marshal of the Air Force, Governor-General of Italian Libya and Commander-in-Chief of Italian ...

, a friend of

Renzo Ravenna Renzo Ravenna (Ferrara, August 20, 1893 - Ferrara, October 29, 1961) was an Italians, Italian lawyer and politician. He belonged to a prominent Jewish family in Ferrara and was, with Enrico Paolo Salem in Trieste, one of only two Fascism, Fascist ...

and always very open towards the Jewish community), the "Jewish enemy" hidden in society began to be denounced, and the ghetto, in fact, went back into operation.

Situation

The Jewish quarter has largely retained its original structure and character. From the cathedral square starts via Mazzini (formerly Via Sabbioni), the main street of the ghetto, typical until

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

for its old shops. One of the five closing gates was located at its entrance. This is commemorated by a plaque on the building of the former San Crispino Oratory, where Jews had to gather for forced sermons. Another gate was placed at the end of the street (at the junction with Via delle Scienze). On Via Mazzini 95 are the three synagogues in Ferrara, the only surviving ones among those existing in the ghetto, with the adjoining Jewish Museum, in a building used by the Jewish community of Ferrara since 1485. From Via Mazzini one passes into Via Vignatagliata, with its ancient 14th-century buildings. At no. 33, two plaques commemorate the physician and philosopher Isacco Lampronti, at no. 44 there was once the Oven of the Azzime and at no. 79 the school that after the

racial laws Anti-Jewish laws have been a common occurrence throughout the history of antisemitism and Jewish history. Examples of such laws include special Jewish quotas, Jewish taxes and Jewish "disabilities". During the 1930s and early 1940s, some law ...

of 1938 housed Jewish children expelled from state schools and where

also taught.Silvio Magrini p.335. The buildings in the other streets of the Ghetto date from the

15th century The 15th century was the century which spans the Julian calendar dates from 1 January 1401 (represented by the Roman numerals MCDI) to 31 December 1500 (MD). In Europe, the 15th century includes parts of the Late Middle Ages, the Early Re ...

or later: via Vittoria (formerly ''via della Gattamarcia''), via Torcicoda, vicolo Vignatagliata and piazzetta Lampronti. At the end of via Vignatagliata and via Vittoria there were two other gates to the ghetto and the fifth closed the access to via Contrari. In Via Vittoria at No. 39 stood the ''scola spagnola'', later closed and converted into a private residence. The plaques honouring the donations of benefactors remain in the entrance hall.

Notes

Bibliography

Italian sources

*Annie Sacerdoti, Luca Fiorentino, Guida all'Italia ebraica, Genova, Marietti, 1988, SBN IT\ICCU\TO0\1554582. *Maria Giuseppina Muzzarelli, Gli ebrei, in Francesca Bocchi (a cura di), Storia illustrata di Ferrara, vol. 2, San Marino, Aiep, 1987, pp. 465-480, SBN IT\ICCU\RER\0034049. *Adriano Franceschini, Presenza ebraica a Ferrara. Testimonianze archivistiche fino al 1492, a cura di Paolo Ravenna, Ferrara, Carife, 2007, . *Antonella Guarnieri, Il fascismo ferrarese. Dodici articoli per raccontarlo, Ferrara, Tresogni, 2011, . *Silvio Magrini, Storia degli ebrei di Ferrara, dalle origini al 1943, a cura di Andrea Pesaro, Livorno, Belforte, 2015, SBN IT\ICCU\TO0\1929824. *Silvio Magrini, Gli Ebrei e gli Estensi, in La Rassegna Mensile Di Israel, vol. 5, n. 7/8, Firenze, Rassegna mensile di Israel, 1930, pp. 410–414, OCLC 5542591466

External links

{{Commons category-inline, Ghetto (Ferrara)
Ferrara ebraica: storia e vita di Paolo Ravenna (n. 1, dicembre 1994)

Ghetto of Ferrara

Nel ghetto ebraico di Ferrara, una storia lunghissima
Jewish communities in Italy Jewish ghettos in Europe Jewish Italian history Antisemitism in Italy