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Great Synagogue Of Florence

The facade of the Great Synagogue of Florence

The magnificent Great Synagogue of Florence (Italian is located in the historic center of Florence , via Farini. Its dome in copper green is part of the panorama of the city.

Summary

1 The Jewish community of Florence
2 The new synagogue
3 The museum
4 A show in Florence
5 References
6 Gallery

/ / The Jewish community of Florence

Community Jewish Florence is not very large, about two thousand people, but it is one of the oldest, dating back to Roman times. This small community was first established in the suburb of Oltrarno on the left bank of the river Arno and outside the city walls. The first traces back to the XIII ^century , when a synagogue is built into the current street Ramaglianti in Oltrarno near Borgo San Jacopo. The street also called the Rue de Judea.

But the community is growing only under the Medici and particularly under Cosimo the Elder who signs a concession in 1437 to the community for a bank to loan. Well protected in the exercise of their trades, lenders and bankers arrive then Pisa , from Rieti , of Tivoli , and even to Spain and Portugal.

Despite this agreement, Cosimo ^I removed them the freedom to settle in the city and forced to live in the ghetto located in what is now the Piazza della Repubblica. During the Inquisition , Cosimo III issued a decree forbidding Christians to work for Jews. The opening of the ghetto only goes back 1848 , when the excommunication of the Italian state by Pope Pius IX creates a climate more tolerant of religious minorities.

New Synagogue

In 1868 , David Levi, president of Hebrew University, donated by the will of his property for the construction of a new synagogue in Florence "worthy of the city." The community then the acquisition of land in the vicinity of the new district Mattonaia and Piazza D'Azeglio. In 1874 a competition for architects was organized by the community and the construction of the largest synagogue in the period will last eight years, from 1874 to 1882 , based on plans by architects Marco Treves, Mariano Falcini and Vincenzo Micheli for considerable sum at that time a million Italian lire.

Marco Treves, the only Jew among the three architects, is considered the inspiration behind the style of the synagogue. It would be inspired by the Hagia Sophia Church in Constantinople (now Istanbul ).

The inauguration of the Grand Rabbi of Florence Jacob Maroni held on 24 October 1882 , in the presence of a large number of notables of the city. The facade of the building is travertine and white marble pink. At its center sits a magnificent dome in copper and green on each side an octagonal tower surmounted each with a small cupola as copper. The set is the finest Moorish style.

This synagogue is one of the synagogues so-called "emancipation" tied to the historical period of secularism country after the occupation of Rome by the troops of Victor Emmanuel II in 1870 and the excommunication of the Kingdom of Italy by Pope Pius IX. The influence of Catholicism in public life, then decreases sharply.

The building

The building stands amid a garden green, rich in plants, exotic, closed by gates in wrought iron produced in Siena. The synagogue leads the visitor into an atmosphere of exotic Eastern. In the garden is the community school. The central dome clad in copper plates, stood on a high drum circular and is visible from miles above the city.

Interior

The interior of the synagogue, flooded with golden light, is completely covered with decorative patterns painted by Giovanni Panti, a local artist, with arabesques of red and blue, highlighted the source of gold. The stained glass polychrome scenes reminiscent of biblical. They surround the central part of the room and the galleries closed higher by wrought iron gates and decorated with seven-branched candlestick which the models were designed by Francesco Marini.

The Bimah is on a raised platform in front of the Ark. This is covered in mosaics and framed by a canopy , surmounted by the Tables of the Law , also found at the top of the exterior facade of the synagogue. The doors of the Ark before which a candle is lit eternal, still bear the signs of desecration from shots bayonet issued by the fascists who tried to snatch.

During the occupation Nazi , the synagogue is used as a garage, then undermined by the retreating Germans. Fortunately the explosion did not occur and the synagogue was saved.

At the bottom of the right aisle opens a door that provides access to an oratory rite Ashkenazi named after Rabbi Zvi Samuel Margulies, which are located in two arches.

At the center of the synagogue, is a star ground black and yellow marble from the brotherhood Assurim Matter of the former ghetto.

Garden

The names of the 284 Jewish residents of Florence killed by the Nazis during the Second World War are engraved on a large tombstone in the garden of the synagogue. A smaller headstone commemorates the memory of Jews killed during the Florentines First World War.

Another plaque is located in the train station Santa Maria Novella from whence trains deported Jews to concentration camps.

Floods of 1966

The furniture, frescoes , the library and all 90 rolls of Torah suffered in the Florence floods of catastrophic 1966. The ensemble has been restored thanks to contributions from many Jewish communities in Italy and worldwide.

The museum

The history of the Florentine Jewish community is told in the museum located on the first floor and founded in 1981. It is divided into two parts: the first reconstructs the history of Jews in Florence, with a model states of the old ghetto, the second presents items ceremonial Hebrew , with numerous examples of silver liturgical and precious fabrics, some of which date back to sixteenth century.