Reviving the Renaissance Temples of Venice's Jewish Ghetto
An $11 million project is underway to restore three decaying synagogues and preserve the city’s history of harboring European Jews.
VENICE — Walking into the Jewish Ghetto here, in the Cannaregio section of this watery city, you would not know that there are five ornate synagogues nestled behind the walls of the nondescript tenements that date back to the 16th century.
The temples were built on the top floor — according to Jewish law, synagogues should be the tallest structures in a given area — and had to be hidden because Jews were not allowed to pray openly. Those houses of worship were a lifeline for the estimated 5,000 Jews who lived in the ghetto at its most populous — a place to gather, celebrate rites of passage, take refuge from a world that didn’t want them.
These days, the number of Jews in Venice has dwindled to 450, and the synagogues have fallen into disrepair. But an effort is underway to rejuvenate the three most needy of them — restoring the wooden pews, cleaning the terrazzo floors and repairing the painted ceilings.
“These buildings are crying for help,” said David Landau, an Israeli art historian and businessman who lives between Switzerland and Venice and is leading fund-raising for the project. “I got so frustrated when I came here and saw everything was crumbling. We have to get this done. It’s a question of honor. Art for me is fundamental to my life, and being a Jew is fundamental to my life.”
The project, which has been underway for about three years, is focused on the German Synagogue, called the Scuola Tedesca, built in 1528; the Canton Synagogue (possibly French, and from 1532); and the Italian Synagogue, circa 1570. Each national community insisted on its own place of worship. Venice was a relative safe harbor for Jews from across Europe, Landau said, because the city allowed them to earn a living — and live without the threat of violence or death.'>>>
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/04/arts/venice-jewish-ghetto-synagogues.html