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"Il Ghetto": Rome's Jewish Comunity 
Our stroll starts on Tiber Island. Here we lay
the groundwork for the sights and ideas to come. We discuss the history of
Jews' presence in Rome: why they arrived in Rome in 161 B.C. on a
peace-keeping mission, why they initially settled in a region called
"Transtiberim" and how their civil rights changed in a Roman State which
was undergoing transitions of its own. To get off Tiber Island and head
toward the Ghetto, we have to cross the "pons Fabricius" or the Fabrician
Bridge, built in 62 b.C. It was later dubbed the "Pons Judaeorum" or the
Jewish bridge when the Jewish community -- that had settled and sunk their
roots in Trastevere -- moved to the other side of the river for security
reasons after the decline of the Roman Empire.
No entrance fees |
We stroll through the area that comprised the Ghetto as founded by Pope Paul
IV in 1555. Afterwards, we loop through a larger neighborhood, known today
as "il Ghetto" in Italian. There's so much to see and appreciate in the
modern Ghetto: "La Fontana delle Tartarughe" or the "Turtle Fountain," as well as characteristic palazzi or noble residences from the 1500s and remains of Roman
monuments. We'll also see Rome's most famous
Synagogue from outside. If you are interested in visiting it inside, we'll
arrange to end the tour there. The Jewish community, for security reasons,
offers its own tour services of the Synagogue and its museum.