Rome’s Jewish quarter is a thriving and busy precinct within the centro storico. It is both a cultural and culinary attraction, with Jewish bakeries, delis and trattorie lining the busy streets. These days, the area has become a little too popular as spruikers work the narrow lanes with their menus and intrusive spiel and locals and tourists form long queues at bakeries and delis. Long gone is that quaint district of old. A good time to visit would be on a weekday morning.
The Jewish quarter is a small, distinct precinct in the centre of Rome and is best accessed via the bridge over the Tevere from Trastevere. The Roman Ghetto was established as a result of a Papal Bull by Pope Paul 1V in 1555. The bull also required the Jews of Rome, who had lived as a community since pre- Christian times, to live in the ghetto. The ghetto was a walled quarter with its gates locked at night.
The papal bull also revoked all the rights of the Jewish community and imposed a variety of new restrictions such as prohibition on property ownership and practising medicine on Christians and compulsory Catholic sermons on the Jewish Sabbath.
In common with many other Italian ghettoes, the ghetto of Rome was not initially so called, but was variously referred to in documents as serraglio degli Ebrei or claustro degli Ebrei, both meaning “enclosure of the Hebrews”. Various forms of the word ghetto came into use in the late 16th century.
The word ‘ghetto’ is based on the Italian word for foundry getto, (because the first ghetto was established in 1516 on the site of a foundry in Venice), or from Italian borghetto, diminutive of borgo meaning ‘borough’.
These images of Rome, variations on a theme, were taken around the Jewish Ghetto in Rome on a Sunday.
History of the Roman ghetto largely gleaned from Wikipedia.
ALMOST ITALIAN 
In your inimitable fashion you teach! At the ‘other end’ of life’ I learn the origin of ‘ghetto’ and exactly how old the persecution of the Jews has lasted . . . . and that my beloved ‘C alla giudia’ is of Jewish birth . . . I wonder: what percentage of folk living in that small area are still Jewish . . . or have people set on making moneys out of the tourist industry have taken over . . .
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The precinct still seems very Jewish- the spruiking waiters seemed so, and the delis, bakeries and restaurants are definitely so. People making money out of the tourist industry include all sorts of Romans, Jewish or not, as well as American bloggers running small foody groups. It’s Rome, it’s touristy.
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I was very impressed by the Great Synagogue and museum – where, of course, photography is not allowed. They want you to buy the book!
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Yes, great synagogue. I don’t ind so much about the lack of photography- that used to be the case everywhere until people started using their phones.
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Most interesting. Have you visited this other Italian ghetto?
longoio2.wordpress.com/2016/08/21/imposing-pitigliano-with-its-little-jerusalem
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Thank you
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