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The Jewish Community of Ancona

Ancona

Adriatic seaport in Italy.

According to early Christian legends, the first bishop of Ancona was no less than the Great Rabbi of Jerusalem who took a Christian name after he was baptized. Jews were living near Ancona in 967 AD. It seems that there was already a synagogue there, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1279. By about 1300, there was an organized Jewish community in the city on whose behalf the poet Immanuel of Rome sent a letter to the Rome community, intimating that as the Ancona community was in economic straits and suffered from persecution, it should not be subjected to heavy taxation (Mahberet 24). Most of the Jews who settled in Anacona came from the Muslim east. Jews probably engaged in moneylending in Ancona in the first half of the 15th century. There were also many merchants engaged in maritime trade with the Eastern Mediterranean.
In 1427 the Franciscan Giacomo della Marca, an enthusiastic disciple of Bernardino of Siena, tried to force the Jews in Ancona to wear the Jewish badge and to restrict Jewish residence to a single street. He was in part successful, as the city senate indeed passed restrictive measures. Around 1450 the Jewish population of Ancona numbered 500 persons, representing 5% of the city's population. Both in 1456 and 1488 Jews were accused of ritual murder.

The arrival of refugees from the Iberian Peninsula opened a new chapter in the history of the Ancona Jewish community. The first to arrive, in 1492 were refugees from Sicily. By 1497 they were joined by refugees from Portugal, and after 1510 were joined by refugees from the Kingdom of Naples. An order to wear the badge was again issued in 1524, but was revoked four years later. Solomon Molcho visited the community in 1529 and stimulated messianic enthusiasm there. The assumption by the papal legate of authority in Ancona in 1532 had mixed results for the community. As Ancona was about to be declared a free port, many Jewish merchants took advantage of its excellent harbor facilities to trade with the Levant. At first mercantile interests prevailed in papal policy and pope Paul III invited merchants from the Levant to settle there, regardless of their religion. In 1541 he encouraged the settlement of Jews who were expelled from Naples and in 1547 extended the invitation to Marranos, whom he promised to protect against the inquisition. Julius III renewed these guarantees, and about one hundred Portuguese Marrano families apparently settled in Ancona. In 1555, however, Pope Paul IV began to institute anti-Jewish measures in the Papal States. The Papal Bull of July 12, 1555, was implemented in full in Ancona. The Jews were segregated in a ghetto, built the following year, prohibited from owning real property, and restricted to trade in second-hand
clothing. Papal opposition to the Marranos proved particularly implacable, and a legate was sent to Ancona to take proceedings against them. Some managed to escape to Pesaro, Ferrara, and other places, but 51 were arrested and tried. Twenty-five were burned at the stake between April and June 1555. The horrors of the tragedy, mourned throughout the Jewish world, inspired touching elegies, still recited locally on the ninth of Av. The event moved Dona Gracia Nasi to organize a boycott of Ancona. The boycott, however, caused dissension within Jewry, some rabbis supporting the action while others opposed it, fearing that the Pope might retaliate against Jews living under his jurisdiction. The Ancona tragedy thus occasioned the first attempt by Jewry to utilize economic power as a weapon against persecutors, as well as provoking a debate on the desirability and danger of attempting international Jewish action of this nature. The position of Ancona Jewry, although temporarily improved under PiusI V, again deteriorated under Pius V. Ancona was one of the cities in Italy (together with Rome) from which the Jews were not expelled by the Pope in 1569, being tolerated because of their utility in the Levant trade; nevertheless many decided to leave. Some amelioration was afforded by the favorably disposed Sixtus V and Ancona was again exempted when Pope Clement VIII renewed the decree of expulsion in 1593. However by the beginning of the 17th century, the Ancona community was reduced to a state of debility that lasted through two centuries. Any temporary improvement that occurred was prompted by economic considerations, for example, in 1659 when Pope Alexander VII ordered to closing of shops outside the ghetto, the city senate opposed him on the grounds that this would adversely affect the economic situation of the city. The decree was revoked.

In the 18th century the Ashkenazi community slowly began to emerge. The Morpurgo family was the most important of the Ashkenazi families. In 1763 there were 1,290 Jews living in Ancona. As late of 1775 Pius VI again enforced all the most extreme anti-Jewish legislation. During the occupation of Ancona by the army of Napoleon between 1797 and 1799 the Jews were fully emancipated. The gates of the ghetto were removed, and two Jews Ezechia and Savatore Morpurgo, sat on the new municipal council although the Jews, as well as local population were obliged to contribute heavy war levels.

In 1814, after Napoleon's downfall, Ancona reverted to the Papal States, and the former legislation was reimposed by Pope Leo XII. The revolutionary activity resulted in the destruction of the ghetto; however, it was only in 1848 that residence in ghetto was officially forbidden. Various Jews contributed to the Italian Risorgimento, such as David Almagia, Giuseppe Cohen, and Pacifico Pacifici. Ancona Jews paid a high price for their participation. The Jews obtained complete civic rights in 1861 when Ancona was included in the kingdom of Italy. The Jewish population was numbered approximately 1,600 in the 19th century.

The size of the community and its widespread connections attracted many noted rabbis and scholars throughout the centuries, including the humanist Judah Messer Leon (15th century), the physician Amatus Lusitanus, and Moses Basola (16th century), Mahalalel Hallelyja of Civitanova, Hezekiah Manoach Provenzal, Joseph Fermi (17th century), Samson Morpurgo, Joseph Fiammetta (18th century), Jacob Shabbetai Sinigaglia, Isaiah Raphael Azulai, David Abraham Vivanti, Isaac Raphael Tedeschi (19th century), and H. Rosenberg who published several monographs on local history.

In 1938 there were 1,117 Jews in Ancona. During War World II, persecution was more individual than collective. The Germans and the Italian Fascists demanded tributes to allow the Jews to live. In 1944 soldiers of the Jewish Brigade arrived in Ancona, and helped the community get back on its feet. In 1967 there were 400 Jews in Ancona. In 2004 the figure war around 200, with two synagogues in operation, the Levantine and the Italian.

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The Jewish Community of Ancona

Ancona

Adriatic seaport in Italy.

According to early Christian legends, the first bishop of Ancona was no less than the Great Rabbi of Jerusalem who took a Christian name after he was baptized. Jews were living near Ancona in 967 AD. It seems that there was already a synagogue there, which was destroyed in the earthquake of 1279. By about 1300, there was an organized Jewish community in the city on whose behalf the poet Immanuel of Rome sent a letter to the Rome community, intimating that as the Ancona community was in economic straits and suffered from persecution, it should not be subjected to heavy taxation (Mahberet 24). Most of the Jews who settled in Anacona came from the Muslim east. Jews probably engaged in moneylending in Ancona in the first half of the 15th century. There were also many merchants engaged in maritime trade with the Eastern Mediterranean.
In 1427 the Franciscan Giacomo della Marca, an enthusiastic disciple of Bernardino of Siena, tried to force the Jews in Ancona to wear the Jewish badge and to restrict Jewish residence to a single street. He was in part successful, as the city senate indeed passed restrictive measures. Around 1450 the Jewish population of Ancona numbered 500 persons, representing 5% of the city's population. Both in 1456 and 1488 Jews were accused of ritual murder.

The arrival of refugees from the Iberian Peninsula opened a new chapter in the history of the Ancona Jewish community. The first to arrive, in 1492 were refugees from Sicily. By 1497 they were joined by refugees from Portugal, and after 1510 were joined by refugees from the Kingdom of Naples. An order to wear the badge was again issued in 1524, but was revoked four years later. Solomon Molcho visited the community in 1529 and stimulated messianic enthusiasm there. The assumption by the papal legate of authority in Ancona in 1532 had mixed results for the community. As Ancona was about to be declared a free port, many Jewish merchants took advantage of its excellent harbor facilities to trade with the Levant. At first mercantile interests prevailed in papal policy and pope Paul III invited merchants from the Levant to settle there, regardless of their religion. In 1541 he encouraged the settlement of Jews who were expelled from Naples and in 1547 extended the invitation to Marranos, whom he promised to protect against the inquisition. Julius III renewed these guarantees, and about one hundred Portuguese Marrano families apparently settled in Ancona. In 1555, however, Pope Paul IV began to institute anti-Jewish measures in the Papal States. The Papal Bull of July 12, 1555, was implemented in full in Ancona. The Jews were segregated in a ghetto, built the following year, prohibited from owning real property, and restricted to trade in second-hand
clothing. Papal opposition to the Marranos proved particularly implacable, and a legate was sent to Ancona to take proceedings against them. Some managed to escape to Pesaro, Ferrara, and other places, but 51 were arrested and tried. Twenty-five were burned at the stake between April and June 1555. The horrors of the tragedy, mourned throughout the Jewish world, inspired touching elegies, still recited locally on the ninth of Av. The event moved Dona Gracia Nasi to organize a boycott of Ancona. The boycott, however, caused dissension within Jewry, some rabbis supporting the action while others opposed it, fearing that the Pope might retaliate against Jews living under his jurisdiction. The Ancona tragedy thus occasioned the first attempt by Jewry to utilize economic power as a weapon against persecutors, as well as provoking a debate on the desirability and danger of attempting international Jewish action of this nature. The position of Ancona Jewry, although temporarily improved under PiusI V, again deteriorated under Pius V. Ancona was one of the cities in Italy (together with Rome) from which the Jews were not expelled by the Pope in 1569, being tolerated because of their utility in the Levant trade; nevertheless many decided to leave. Some amelioration was afforded by the favorably disposed Sixtus V and Ancona was again exempted when Pope Clement VIII renewed the decree of expulsion in 1593. However by the beginning of the 17th century, the Ancona community was reduced to a state of debility that lasted through two centuries. Any temporary improvement that occurred was prompted by economic considerations, for example, in 1659 when Pope Alexander VII ordered to closing of shops outside the ghetto, the city senate opposed him on the grounds that this would adversely affect the economic situation of the city. The decree was revoked.

In the 18th century the Ashkenazi community slowly began to emerge. The Morpurgo family was the most important of the Ashkenazi families. In 1763 there were 1,290 Jews living in Ancona. As late of 1775 Pius VI again enforced all the most extreme anti-Jewish legislation. During the occupation of Ancona by the army of Napoleon between 1797 and 1799 the Jews were fully emancipated. The gates of the ghetto were removed, and two Jews Ezechia and Savatore Morpurgo, sat on the new municipal council although the Jews, as well as local population were obliged to contribute heavy war levels.

In 1814, after Napoleon's downfall, Ancona reverted to the Papal States, and the former legislation was reimposed by Pope Leo XII. The revolutionary activity resulted in the destruction of the ghetto; however, it was only in 1848 that residence in ghetto was officially forbidden. Various Jews contributed to the Italian Risorgimento, such as David Almagia, Giuseppe Cohen, and Pacifico Pacifici. Ancona Jews paid a high price for their participation. The Jews obtained complete civic rights in 1861 when Ancona was included in the kingdom of Italy. The Jewish population was numbered approximately 1,600 in the 19th century.

The size of the community and its widespread connections attracted many noted rabbis and scholars throughout the centuries, including the humanist Judah Messer Leon (15th century), the physician Amatus Lusitanus, and Moses Basola (16th century), Mahalalel Hallelyja of Civitanova, Hezekiah Manoach Provenzal, Joseph Fermi (17th century), Samson Morpurgo, Joseph Fiammetta (18th century), Jacob Shabbetai Sinigaglia, Isaiah Raphael Azulai, David Abraham Vivanti, Isaac Raphael Tedeschi (19th century), and H. Rosenberg who published several monographs on local history.

In 1938 there were 1,117 Jews in Ancona. During War World II, persecution was more individual than collective. The Germans and the Italian Fascists demanded tributes to allow the Jews to live. In 1944 soldiers of the Jewish Brigade arrived in Ancona, and helped the community get back on its feet. In 1967 there were 400 Jews in Ancona. In 2004 the figure war around 200, with two synagogues in operation, the Levantine and the Italian.

Written by researchers of ANU Museum of the Jewish People