Wednesday October 26 was yet another beautiful day-- sunny with a high of 25C. We caught the 11:05 a.m. train to Ferrara and arrived at 11:42. A quick trip in a very nice train.
Ferrara is located about 44 km north of Bologna. It is known for the buildings erected by its Renaissance rulers, the Este family, who governed for three centuries. Ferrara has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site due to its beauty and cultural importance. It has a population of around 132,000. Its historic centre has a mix of medieval and Renaissance Italy architecture. It is a beautiful city and our walk in from the train station was very peaceful.
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| Walking into town |
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| A magpie with beautiful blue tail |
Our first stop was a visit to the Museo Nazionale dell'Ebraismo Italiano e della Shoah (
MEIS) (National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah).
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| Outside the museum |
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| Poster for the permanent exhibit- Jews, An Italian Story |
There is an interesting story behind the museum. It was established by Italian Law in 2003. It was originally going to be National Holocaust Museum to be based in Rome, but the plans changed and it was decided to build in the former prison of Ferrara with a broader concept of the history of Italian Judaism. The architectural project began in 2011 and the Museum opened in 2017. There are supposed to be five buildings which were to have been completed by 2020. So far only two buildings are finished. The Foundation's offices and one exhibition space are in a building that fronts the street. There is also a larger building with three floors which houses the permanent exhibit on the top floor and has space for a temporary exhibit in the basement.
The complex of former prisons closed in 1992 and the area had been in decline when the decision was made to establish MEIS at that location. Some of the old prisons were demolished and other parts renovated. The buildings and the space are very well done. However, Ferrara is a bit of an out of the way location and when we were at the Museum, there were only a few other people visiting.
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Looking at main building from outside the smaller building which faces the street
There was a garden exhibit about Jewish food rules |
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| View back from main building to the smaller building on the street |
The history of Jews in Italy goes back more than 2000 years. There had been Jews living in Ancient Rome, since the 2nd century BCE during a period when there was more tolerance. [The Museum uses BCE and CE references]. Then there was a Christian Rome where the Museum write up says "the Church had a relationship with the Jews-not tolerance but not exclusion either- based on a condition of legalised inferiority that will last until the 19th century." It then notes that there were 15th and 16th century expulsions and conversions.
The exhibit contained a lot of written material and some interviews with a number of Professors. There were some artifacts and a number of reproductions.
The story started with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Rome in 70 BCE. Titus, the future emperor, had taken commend of the war and in August 70 BCE, after months of siege, he finally captured Jerusalem. The Temple was plundered and its furnishing taken to Rome. Thousands of Jews were killed or deported to Rome as slaves and prisoners.
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| Statue of Titus 1st Century CE (Naples, National Archeological Museum) |
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| Lots of interactive videos-- the burning of the Temple |
The Jewish prisoners brought to Rome found themselves in a city where Jews had long been present and well-integrated. After the death of Titus, two triumphal arches were built to commemorate the victory over the Jews. The Coliseum was built with money from the looting of Judea, the Temple treasury, and the forced labour of Jewish slaves. Vespasian, the emperor, had a Temple of Peace erected where he placed the sacred spoils from the Temple.
There was an interesting section of the exhibit with burial stones which tell the story of the Jews who were brought to Rome from Jerusalem.
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Epitaph of Claudia Aster (Aster is the Greek adaptation of the Hebrew Ester),
late 1st century CE (reproduction) |
Aster was purchased by an imperial freedman. On her death, the epitaph included the fact that Aster was a captive from Jerusalem. The Museum notes state that the then Jewish community in Rome managed to free the Jewish slaves brought in by Titus. |
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Relief of the Arch of Titus, late 1st century CE (reproduction)
Triumphal procession of Titus in Rome with the great menorah of gold |
There was a section about the traces of ancient synagogues in Rome.
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| One community with a reference to a congregation |
In the year 212, citizenship was granted to all inhabitants of the Empire, including the Jews. However, there were a number of polemics against the Jews by ancient writers that would play a role in feeding anti-Jewish prejudices in the Middle Ages and modern times.
Interestingly, in the Imperial Age, there were about 40,000 Jews living in Rome which had a population of about one million people. They were scattered in various regions and divided into different communities, each with its own synagogue. They enjoyed religious freedom and spoke mostly Greek.
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| Panels of the Mosaic Floor of the Synagogue in Bova Marina- reproduction |
Most of the information on Jewish life in Rome between the 4th and 6th centuries came from their catacombs.
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| Epitaph of Vesula (?), 3rd-4th century, marble |
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| Sarcophagus of Faustina- 3rd- 4th century, marble |
There was an interesting video based on a book from Benjamin of Tudela. Between 1159 and 1173, the Navarrese Jew embarked on a long journey from Spain to the Holy Land. In the book that recounts his travels, he describes the many Jewish communities he stops at in Italy, mainly in the South.
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| The video had pages of his books with English translations |
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| Vibrant Jewish communities in Italy in the Middle Ages |
The commentary notes that the long coexistence between Jews and Christians changes in the early 12 century. It also notes the impact of the 1492 expulsion of the Jews from Spain and all territories governed by Spain which includes Southern Italy.
The exhibit then talked about the ghettos. It noted that the first ghetto was instituted in Venice in 1516, followed by one in Rome in 1555. In Ferrara, on August 13, 1624, the papal legate to Ferrara issued an edict that formally established the city's Jewish ghetto. It required that the existing Jewish district be isolated by installing five gates.
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| Key to one of the gates of the Ferrara Ghetto, Ferrara, 18th century |
Ghettos were not located in all Italian cities. After the expulsion of Jews from the Iberian Peninsula, Sephardic Jewish settlements in Italian port cities grew between the 16th and 17th centuries. Grand Duke Ferdinand I de'Medici invited Jewish merchants to settle in Pisa and Livorno with the Letters Patent issued in 1591-1593, which guaranteed tax relief, right to purchase real estate, religious freedom and protection from the Inquisition. There never was a ghetto in those two cities.
Between 1848 and 1870, there was a period of emancipation and Italian Jews were granted civil and political equality. They had participated in the Italian unification process and were staunch supporters of the new political ideas.
The permanent exhibit focussed on the Jewish presence in Italy from the Roman era to the Renaissance. Only a mention of the 19th century and nothing past that date.
There was an educational exhibit, largely for kids, about Sukkot in the lower level of the Museum. It was entitled "Under the Same Sky".
We then went to see the powerful exhibit entitled: 1938: L'Umanità Negata (Humanity Denied). This exhibit had been shown from October 2018-March 2019 at the Quirinale Palace in Rome, and is now a permanent exhibit at MEIS.
In Italy, life continued in the same way for the two fictitious families. Things started to slowly change in 1936, after the Italian invasion of Ethiopia.
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| 1936- invasion of Ethiopia |
In August 1938, there was a "Manifesto of Race", a purportedly scientific report signed by a number of scientists and supporters of the National Fascist Party, which declared the Italians to be descendants of the Aryan race. It stated that Jews and Blacks were inferior and that they were not "Italian".
In September 1938, a series of Racial Laws were put into place. Jews were banned from positions in banking, government and education, as well as having their properties confiscated. Mixed marriages were prohibited. Jews were required to be registered.
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| Final decisions about Racial Laws |
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| Mussolini talking about Race |
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| "Very clear superiority" |
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| The X's were on activities that Jews could not engage in- the list gets longer over time |
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| The video noted that this is the point where the two fictional families started to have different experiences. Life carried on for the non-Jewish Italians who were often indifferent to the Racial Laws. Bruno, the fictional man, was fired from his teaching job and his two children banned from school in 1938. |
On September 8, 1943, the Armistice between Italy and the Allies was made public and some thought the war was over. Almost immediately, Hitler launched Operation Axis, the occupation of Northern and Central Italy.
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| Announcement of armistice |
On October 16, 1943, 1000 Jews in Rome were transported to Auschwitz. Only 16 of the 1000 survived. Generally, the deportations had limited success, due in part to advance warning given to Jews by Italian authorities and in part by the unwillingness of many non-Jewish Italians to participate or facilitate the roundups. Of the 44,500 Jews living in Italy before September 1943, 7,680 were murdered, mainly in Auschwitz.
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| Roundups |
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| The video ends with the two families--- the Jewish family were deported and did not survive- they fade out of the picture |
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| Declaration of Human Rights 1947 at the end of the multimedia presentation |
In the adjoining room to the multimedia presentation were some of the actual documents referred to, with a voice-over explaining what they were.
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| The Manifest of Race-- note the sword separating the Jewish man (caricature) and the African woman from the idealized Aryan looking Italian |
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| Bureaucratic note on the deportations |
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| Paper where an Italian man had to sign that he was considered Jewish, even though he had Catholic parents. He wrote at the end of his signature that he was Jewish "according to the rules at the present time". The latter phrase was crossed out. |
The exhibit was very powerfully done as one could trace the insidious nature of the racial laws and the attempt to get people to accept that Jews were not Italians and could be persecuted.
After our visit to the Museum, we headed into the City Centre, where there is much to do and see. Ferrara is a very prosperous city with a lot of history and monuments, castles and cultural sites.
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| The streets of Ferrara -heading into the centre from the Museum |
However, we first had a destination for lunch. Osteria degli Angeli, recommended by a travel blog I follow, is located in one of the best-preserved medieval streets in Europe, the Via delle Volte. It was not even on Google Maps. It was like stepping back in time and a gorgeous spot for a restaurant. Luckily, we got to the restaurant at 2:30 p.m. It would close at 3:00 p.m., but they were willing to serve us a pasta course.
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| Local Ferrara bread |
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| Lovely setting for lunch |
The blog had said that one must try the most popular local dish, the Cappellacci di Zucca with ragù. It's a larger size of stuffed pasta with pumpkin. It was one of the best pasta dishes I have ever tasted. The pumpkin flavour in the home-made pasta was excellent.
It had a very interesting history. The Torre della Vittoria (Tower of Victory), is a newer structure built on the site of the original tower which partially collapsed during a 16th century earthquake. The reconstruction was initiated at the behest of Italo Balbo, founder of the Fascist Party of Ferrara and his friend Renzo Ravenna who was Chief Magistrate of Ferrara from 1926. The Tower was inaugurated o November 1, 1928. The bell was supported by six eagles and decorated with the emblems of the Municipality and the local Fascist Party.
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| The story and early pictures of the tower |
Across from City Hall was the immense Cattedrale di Ferrara. Work began in 1135 and took more than 100 years to complete. The interior was remodelled in the 17th century. It is presently closed as it is being restored.
We then stopped for a coffee at Foggy Mug, in a square behind City Hall.
We walked to the immense Castello Estense (Este castle). It is a moated medieval castle in the centre of the city. It consists of a large block with four corner towers. It was commissioned by Nicolò II d'Este in 1385 and was initially intended to protect him and his family from the town's irate citizenry who were up in arms over tax increases. There are dungeons in the castle where enemies were imprisoned. In the late 15th century, it became the family's permanent residence. The Este family is a European dynasty of North Italian origin whose members ruled part of Italy and Germany for many centuries.
Ferrara became part of the Kingdom of Italy in 1860. The castle was bought by the Province of Ferrara in 1874 that utilised the structure as headquarters of the Prefecture. During WWII, it was severely damaged by Allied bombing. It was partially reconstructed in 1946. In 2002, the "Castle for the City" project was started. It involved a massive restoration and a series of exhibitions of International significance.
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| Beautiful inner courtyard of the Teatro |
A few streets away was the old Jewish ghetto and a synagogue. There was a commemorative plaque outside the synagogue.
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| Narrow streets in the former ghetto |
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| We passed a sign for Balebùste Ristorante |
It was then time to head back to the Train Station. We walked up the very large Via Cavour. Signage outside one building caught our eye. It turned out to be the Casa del Fascio (headquarters of the local Fascist party), built between 1928 and 1930, and inaugurated in February 1931. The building replaced the former fascist headquarters which had been deemed inadequate. The architect was Giorgio Gandini. It originally contained more than 100 rooms built around a courtyard. It had a main building and two wings. The architect used Neo-sixteenth century forms. It now houses a school and a tribunal.
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| Details about the building |
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| Front of the building- the school was in a wing off to the right |
We continued walking up Via Cavour to the Train Station. We caught the 6:05 p.m. train back to Bologna and arrived at 6:42 p.m. We decided to walk to the Memorial to the Shoah which is just a few minutes north of the train station.
The Shoah Memorial was inaugurated on January 27, 2016 to coincide with International Holocaust Remembrance Day. It was built in less than two months.
The memorial is made up of two symmetrical steel blocks. The path through the two sections gives a feeling of oppression. The inside of the Memorial represents the cells of the buildings where prisoners slept in the concentration camps. The paving of the path is done of stone chippings typical of roadbeds. It represents the ramp at Auschwitz.
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Very ominous at night
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| Inside (taken with flash) -- very haunting memorial |
We headed into town and decided that as we had pasta for lunch, we would have a charcuterie plate at Tamburini, a highly recommended salumeria.
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| Outside of one entrance near the outside seating |
We had a short wait for outside seating. We could have eaten inside, but it was a beautiful evening and we know we won't be eating outside in Toronto for a long time.
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| Outside tables |
Everyone in Bologna has these plates of meats and cheeses. Very filling and very reasonable. Our entire meal with two classes of Sangiovese wine and a bottle of water came to 29 euros.
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| Huge platter |
We walked back to the apartment at about 9:30 p.m. and was surprised to see that Gamberini, our favourite pastry place en route to our apartment, was open. We stopped in for a treat, which they carefully wrapped.
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| Alonso with the treat at Gamberini |
Another full day. We would definitely recommend a day trip to Ferrara. It is one of a number of towns very close to Bologna. Had we more time in Bologna, we might have done day trips to Modena and Parma. However, these trips are still tiring and one has to navigate a new city upon arrival. We like to pace any day trips with time in the city we are staying in. Bologna is definitely a great city as a base. In fact, the train we were on started in Venice, just two hours away.
Thursday October 27 is our last full day in Bologna, before heading home to Toronto on Friday October 28. It's going to be a shock going from 25C to a much colder Toronto. It seems most of Italy has been enjoying warm weather the last few weeks. We have been very lucky this trip.
I will be doing one more post, either on the evening of Thursday October 27, or just after our return home.
Stay tuned.
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