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History of the Jews in Turin
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History of the Jews in Turin
The history of the Jews in Turin, Italy, can be first traced to the 4th century when bishop Maximus of Turin recorded the presence of Jews in the city. The city of Turin is in north-west Italy and is the capital of the Piedmont region.
After bishop Maximus of Turin's reference to a Jewish population in the city in the 4th century, there is no evidence of Jews there until 1424. The main Jewish settlements in Piedmont began in the 15th century and consisted of Jews who escaped persecution in Eastern France. These Jews escaped a few decades after the Spanish persecutions, when in 1492 the Catholic King and Queen of Spain Ferdinand and Isabella forced all Jewish and (Muslim) Arab subjects to convert, flee or die on the stake.
The Dukes of Savoy tolerated the Jewish presence in their lands as a means to increase commerce and to extract high taxes. Jews were considered foreigners and as such could not avoid such payments, as they faced the threat of a sudden warrant for their expulsion.
Through the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the most important Jewish communities (then called universities) were formed, on the basis of statutory laws passed mainly by Amedeo the 8th, Emanuele Filiberto and Vittorio Amedeo the 2nd. These universities were located in Turin, Asti, Alessandria, Carmagnola, Casale Monferrato, Cuneo, Fossano, Moncalvo, Saluzzo and Savigliano . At the end of the 18th century, each one of these communities had a Jewish population of more than 100 people with an overall total of 4192. The large Jewish community of Turin consisted of 1,317 people and the small community of Trino Vercellese consisted of 35 people.
The main deprivations made by the Dukes and the Kings of Savoy against Jews included the prohibition against owning real estate, against joining the standing Army, against belonging to Arts and Trades corporations, and against entering schools. Also, and humiliatingly, Jews were forced to wear a distinctive yellow mark.
Despite the numerous prohibitions which aimed to separate Jews from the rest of society, sovereigns allowed them to be pawnbrokers, as a sort of privilege. Jews were the only members of the population who could practice this activity as it was forbidden to Christians, and therefore was a concession (in reality an imposition) to Jews. The economy of the State could not exist without money-lending, therefore private citizens and even the Savoy kings themselves had to appeal to the Jews.
Jews in Piedmont lived together in specific areas, far away from churches and Catholic procession routes, but actual ghettos were created about a century and a half after Pope Paul the Fourth's 1555 imposition on the Jews in Rome.
The ghetto of Turin was built in 1679 and was enlarged in the 18th century. It had the characteristic galleries on the courtyard, along each side of the four walls. The ghetto was composed of two blocks of buildings, one between the roads Via Principe Amedeo, Via Bogino, Via Maria Vittoria and Via San Francesco da Paola, and the other one between Via Bogino, Via Des Ambrois and Piazza Carlina. In Via Maria Vittoria 25 and Via Des Ambrois 2 it is still possible to see the original ghetto gates. The inhabitants suffered diseases and deformities due to living in cramped and poorly ventilated conditions. On the roads were shops where Jews sold what few goods they could: second-hand items, ritual foods, and garments repaired by very skilled tailors. Within the ghetto were two Synagogues with Italian and Spanish liturgies. There was also a school (Talmud Torah) which Jewish children attended from the age of three.
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History of the Jews in Turin
The history of the Jews in Turin, Italy, can be first traced to the 4th century when bishop Maximus of Turin recorded the presence of Jews in the city. The city of Turin is in north-west Italy and is the capital of the Piedmont region.
After bishop Maximus of Turin's reference to a Jewish population in the city in the 4th century, there is no evidence of Jews there until 1424. The main Jewish settlements in Piedmont began in the 15th century and consisted of Jews who escaped persecution in Eastern France. These Jews escaped a few decades after the Spanish persecutions, when in 1492 the Catholic King and Queen of Spain Ferdinand and Isabella forced all Jewish and (Muslim) Arab subjects to convert, flee or die on the stake.
The Dukes of Savoy tolerated the Jewish presence in their lands as a means to increase commerce and to extract high taxes. Jews were considered foreigners and as such could not avoid such payments, as they faced the threat of a sudden warrant for their expulsion.
Through the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries, the most important Jewish communities (then called universities) were formed, on the basis of statutory laws passed mainly by Amedeo the 8th, Emanuele Filiberto and Vittorio Amedeo the 2nd. These universities were located in Turin, Asti, Alessandria, Carmagnola, Casale Monferrato, Cuneo, Fossano, Moncalvo, Saluzzo and Savigliano . At the end of the 18th century, each one of these communities had a Jewish population of more than 100 people with an overall total of 4192. The large Jewish community of Turin consisted of 1,317 people and the small community of Trino Vercellese consisted of 35 people.
The main deprivations made by the Dukes and the Kings of Savoy against Jews included the prohibition against owning real estate, against joining the standing Army, against belonging to Arts and Trades corporations, and against entering schools. Also, and humiliatingly, Jews were forced to wear a distinctive yellow mark.
Despite the numerous prohibitions which aimed to separate Jews from the rest of society, sovereigns allowed them to be pawnbrokers, as a sort of privilege. Jews were the only members of the population who could practice this activity as it was forbidden to Christians, and therefore was a concession (in reality an imposition) to Jews. The economy of the State could not exist without money-lending, therefore private citizens and even the Savoy kings themselves had to appeal to the Jews.
Jews in Piedmont lived together in specific areas, far away from churches and Catholic procession routes, but actual ghettos were created about a century and a half after Pope Paul the Fourth's 1555 imposition on the Jews in Rome.
The ghetto of Turin was built in 1679 and was enlarged in the 18th century. It had the characteristic galleries on the courtyard, along each side of the four walls. The ghetto was composed of two blocks of buildings, one between the roads Via Principe Amedeo, Via Bogino, Via Maria Vittoria and Via San Francesco da Paola, and the other one between Via Bogino, Via Des Ambrois and Piazza Carlina. In Via Maria Vittoria 25 and Via Des Ambrois 2 it is still possible to see the original ghetto gates. The inhabitants suffered diseases and deformities due to living in cramped and poorly ventilated conditions. On the roads were shops where Jews sold what few goods they could: second-hand items, ritual foods, and garments repaired by very skilled tailors. Within the ghetto were two Synagogues with Italian and Spanish liturgies. There was also a school (Talmud Torah) which Jewish children attended from the age of three.