The Roman Ghetto was located in the area surrounded by today's Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progresso and Via di Santa Maria del Pianto close to the Tiber and the Theatre of Marcellus, in Rome, Italy.
A canon promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1556 segregated the Jews, who had lived freely in Rome since Antiquity, in a walled quarter with three gates that were locked at night, and subjected them to various restrictions on their personal freedom, and degradations like compulsory Catholic sermons on the Jewish shabbat although to a lesser degree than in other European countries. The district lacked a well and flooded every winter.
When Napoleonic forces occupied Rome, the Ghetto was legally abolished (in 1808), but it was reinstated as soon as the Papacy regained control. In 1848, during the brief revolution, the Ghetto was abolished once more, again temporarily. The Jews had to petition annually for permission to live there, and were disabled from owning any property even in the Ghetto. They paid a yearly tax for the privilege; formality and tax survived until 1850. Pope Leo XIII was less intransigent than Pius IX, and the city of Rome was able to tear down the Ghetto's walls in 1888 and demolish some houses, before the area was reconstructed around the new Synagogue.
The ghetto of Rome was the last remaining ghetto in Western Europe.
External link
Roman Ghetto described (http://it.geocities.com/mp_pollett/roma-c9.htm)
The walls of the Ghetto (a word Venetian in origin) were built, separating the Jews from the rest of the society.
Outside the ghetto, they had to wear the "Jewish sign", to be easily recognized: men had to wear a yellow patch on hats, women wore a yellow kerchief (the sign of prostitutes).
The Roman Jews are rightfully proud to have endured such incredibly long-lasting and infamous oppression, and the formidable pressures to convert.
The RomanGhetto was located in the rione Sant'Angelo, in the area surrounded by today's Via del Portico d'Ottavia, Lungotevere dei Cenci, Via del Progresso and Via di Santa Maria del Pianto close to the Tiber and the Theater of Marcellus, in Rome, Italy.
The ghetto of Rome was the last remaining ghetto in Western Europe until its later reintroduction by Nazi Germany.
Google Map: The Ghetto lies north of the Isola Tiberina, the white dome of the temple lies between Via Caterina and the river flanking, Lungotevere de Cenci.
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