Great Synagogue in Rome

The Great Synagogue of Rome (called Tempio Maggiore in Italian) was built shortly after the unification of Italy in 1807. At that time, Victor Emmanuel II dismantled the Roman Ghetto and granted the Jews of Rome full citizenship. The building which had previously housed the ghetto synagogue (a complicated structure housing five scolas in a single building) was demolished and the community began making plans for a new and impressive building. King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy Victor Emmanuel II (Italian: Vittorio Emanuele II; March 14, 1820—January 9, 1878) was the King of Piedmont, Savoy and Sardinia from 1849–1861, and King of Italy from 1861 until his death in 1878. ... The Roman Ghetto was located in the area surrounded by todays Via del Portico dOttavia, 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. ...

The Great Synagogue of Rome

Pope John Paul II visiting The Great Synagogue of Rome in April 1986

Designed by Vincenzo Costa and Osvaldo Armanni, the Synagogue was built from 1901-1904 on the banks of the Tiber River and overlooks the former ghetto area. The eclectic style of the building makes it stand out even in a city known for notable buildings and structures. This attention-grabbing design was a deliberate choice made by the community at the time who wanted the building to be a visible celebration of their freedom and to be seen from many vantage points in the city. The dome is the only squared dome in the city and makes the building easily identifiable even from a distance. Pope John Paul II in a synogogue- gi File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Pope John Paul II in a synogogue- gi File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Tiber River in Rome The River Tiber (Italian Tevere), the third longest river in Italy (disputed — see talk page) at 406 km (252 miles) after the Po and the Adige, flows through the Campagna and Rome in its course from Mount Fumaiolo to the Tyrrhenian Sea, which it reaches in...

The Synagogue, which celebrated its centenary in 2004, is more than just a house of worship however and also serves as a cultural and organizational center for la Comunità Ebraica di Roma (the Jewish community of Rome). It houses not only the offices of the Chief Rabbi of Rome but the Jewish Museum of Rome as well. On April 13, 1986, Pope John Paul II made an unexpected visit to Rome's main synagogue - The Great Synagogue of Rome. This event marked the first known visit by a pope to a synagogue since the early history of the Catholic Church. He prayed with Rabbi Elio Toaff, the former Chief Rabbi of Rome. This was seen by many as an attempt to improve relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people, and as a softening of the Church's historically critical view of Judism. The Roman Colosseum Rome (Italian and Latin Roma) is the capital city of Italy, and of its Lazio region. ... A synagogue (from Greek συναγωγη, transliterated sunagoge, place of assembly literally meeting, assembly) is a Jewish house of prayer and study. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... Chief Rabbi is a title given in several countries to the recognised religious leader of that countrys Jewish community. ... For a discussion of Jews as an ethnicity or ethnic group see the article on Jew. ...

On January 17, 2005, thirteen Cantors in conjunction with the Jewish Ministers Cantors Association of America, also known as the "Chazzanim Farband," performed in a cantorial concert for the first time in the 100 year old history of the synagogue. See relations of Pope John Paul II with the Jewish People for more detail January 17 is the 17th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... A minister can mean several things: A government minister is a politician who heads a government ministry A minister of religion is a member of the clergy A minister is the rank of diplomat directly below ambassador This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that... The Pope at the Western Wall. ...

External links

official site of the Great Synagogue (http://www.tempiomaggiore.roma.it)