Great Synagogue of Florence

Last updated

Great Synagogue of Florence
Tempio Maggiore Israelitico di Firenze (in Italian)
Synagogue Florence Italy.JPG
Great Synagogue of Florence.
Religion
Affiliation Judaism
Location
Location Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Geographic coordinates 43°46′22″N11°15′59″E / 43.77278°N 11.26639°E / 43.77278; 11.26639
Architecture
Architect(s) Mariano Falcini, Vincente Micheli, Marco Treves
Style Italian and Moorish Revival
Groundbreaking1874
Completed1882
Dome(s)3

The Great Synagogue of Florence is one of the largest synagogues in South-central Europe, situated in Florence, in Italy. The synagogue of Florence was one of the most important synagogues built in Europe in the age of the Jewish emancipation, reached by the Jewish communities living in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany in 1848.

Contents

History and architecture

In 1848 in the Duchy of Tuscany, the Jewish community were given the status of free citizens. They thought of building a new synagogue to symbolize this change. But only later, could they raise the funds to build such a structure. David Levi, a president of the Jewish community, bequeathed his estate after his death in 1870 to build a new synagogue. The 'Israelitic Temple' was built between 1874 and 1882.

The architects were Mariano Falcini  [ it ], Professor Vincenzo Micheli  [ it ], and Marco Treves, who was Jewish. Their design integrated the Italian architectural tradition with the Moorish style used for the decoration. The Moorish style was considered appropriate for a synagogue because it was never used for churches and, in the case of the new Synagogue of Florence, it was built in the Sefardic style. It served to remind Jews of the origins of Sefardic Jewry in Berber Moorish Spain.

Layers of travertine and granite alternate in the masonry, creating a striped effect. Old photographs show bold red and beige stripes, but the bold colors of the stone have faded over time, leaving a more mottled effect. [1]

The overall plan of the synagogue is quadrangular. The central dome raised on pendentives is reminiscent of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was built as a Byzantine Empire church, and many mosques were inspired by it. The corner towers are topped with horseshoe-arched towers, which have onion domes in the Moorish Revival style. Three horseshoe arches form the main entrance, above which rise tiers of ajimez windows, with their paired horseshoe arches sharing a single column. [1] The natural copper roof was oxidized to green so that it would stand out in the Florentine skyline.

Inside the building "every square inch is covered with colored designs," in Moorish patterns. [1] The interior mosaics and frescoes are by Giovanni Panti. Giacomo del Medico designed the great arch. [2]

During World War II, Nazis soldiers occupied the synagogue, using it as a storehouse. In August 1944 retreating German troops worked with Italian Fascists to lay explosives to destroy the synagogue. But, Italian resistance fighters defused most of the explosives and only a limited amount of damage was done. The synagogue was fully restored after the war. Like many other buildings, it suffered damage after the flood of the River Arno in 1966, but another restoration was undertaken to correct the damage. [3]

Replicas of the Great Synagogue

The Great synagogue of Florence has been widely admired. Today it is often visited and it is possible to visit it every day, except on Saturdays.

Jewish Museum

Entrance inscription, Jewish Museum of Florence Florence-Synagogue-Firenze-jessewaugh.com-22.jpg
Entrance inscription, Jewish Museum of Florence
The Jewish Museum of Florence (Italian: Museo Ebraico di Firenze) is a museum of Jewish history located in the Great Synagogue of Florence, Italy. [4] The museum, which covers two spaces of the building, gathers an important collection of ancient objects of Jewish ceremonial art, [5] evidence of the high artistic level achieved by the Jewish-Italian communities in the field of applied arts. Exhibitions illustrate the history of Florentine Jews from the first settlements to the post-war reconstruction, featuring old photographs, films and a large number of objects of daily and commemorative use. [6]

Jewish community in Florence

Today the Jewish community in Florence is composed of about 1,400 people. It has a long history, reaching to the medieval era. In addition, a nearby Jewish community in the Oltrarno area, south of the Arno river, dates to the Roman era. Jews had a community in Rome since before the Common Era. It is thought that the first synagogue in Florence was probably built in the 13th century.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence</span> Largest city in Tuscany, Italy

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 360,930 inhabitants in 2023, and 984,991 in its metropolitan area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Livorno</span> Port city in Italy

Livorno is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region, Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 158,493 residents in December 2017. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anu – Museum of the Jewish People</span> Museum of Jewish history and culture in Tel Aviv, Israel

Anu – Museum of the Jewish People, formerly the Nahum Goldmann Museum of the Jewish Diaspora, is located in Tel Aviv, Israel, at the center of the Tel Aviv University campus in Ramat Aviv. The Hebrew Anuאנו means 'we, us'.

The history of the Jews in Salzburg, Austria goes back several millennia. Despite being a non-secular province with a Catholic Archbishop as the head of the state, Salzburg has a long record of Jewish history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trani</span> Comune in Apulia, Italy

Trani is a seaport of Apulia, Southern Italy, on the Adriatic Sea, 40 kilometres (25 mi) by railway west-northwest of Bari. It is one of the capital cities of the province of Barletta-Andria-Trani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Florence</span>

Florence weathered the decline of the Western Roman Empire to emerge as a financial hub of Europe, home to several banks including that of the politically powerful Medici family. The city's wealth supported the development of art during the Italian Renaissance, and tourism attracted by its rich history continues today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moorish Revival architecture</span> Revival architectural style

Moorish Revival or Neo-Moorish is one of the exotic revival architectural styles that were adopted by architects of Europe and the Americas in the wake of Romanticist Orientalism. It reached the height of its popularity after the mid-19th century, part of a widening vocabulary of articulated decorative ornament drawn from historical sources beyond familiar classical and Gothic modes. Neo-Moorish architecture drew on elements from classic Moorish architecture and, as a result, from the wider Islamic architecture.

San Frediano Rondinella Società Sportiva S.S.D.R.L. is an Italian association football club based in Florence (Italy).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Synagogue of Tomar</span> Museum and former synagogue in Tomar, Portugal

The Synagogue of Tomar is a well-preserved medieval synagogue in Tomar, Portugal. Along with the Synagogue of Castelo de Vide, it is one of two existing pre-expulsion synagogues in the country. It is located at 73 Rua Dr. Joaquim Jaquinto in Tomar's historic city center. Built in the mid-1400s, the building was active as a synagogue only until 1496, when Jews were expelled from Portugal. It now houses the Abraham Zacuto Portuguese Jewish Museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Novi Sad Synagogue</span> Former synagogue in Novi Sad, Serbia

Novi Sad Synagogue is one of many cultural institutions in Novi Sad, Serbia, in the capital of Serbian the province of Vojvodina. Located on Jevrejska (Jewish) Street, in the city center, the synagogue has been recognized as a historic landmark. It served the local Neolog congregation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dubrovnik Synagogue</span> Synagogue in Dubrovnik, Croatia

The Old Synagogue in Dubrovnik, Croatia, is the oldest Sefardic synagogue still in use today in the world and the second oldest synagogue in Europe. It is said to have been established in 1352, but gained legal status in the city in 1408. Owned by the local Jewish community, the main floor still functions as a place of worship for the High Holy Days and special occasions, but is now mainly a city museum which hosts numerous Jewish ritual items and centuries-old artifacts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuscan wine</span> Notable wine region in Italy

Tuscan wine is Italian wine from the Tuscany region. Located in central Italy along the Tyrrhenian coast, Tuscany is home to some of the world's most notable wine regions. Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino and Vino Nobile di Montepulciano are primarily made with Sangiovese grape whereas the Vernaccia grape is the basis of the white Vernaccia di San Gimignano. Tuscany is also known for the dessert wine Vin Santo, made from a variety of the region's grapes. Tuscany has forty-one Denominazioni di origine controllata (DOC) and eleven Denominazioni di Origine Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). In the 1970s a new class of wines known in the trade as "Super Tuscans" emerged. These wines were made outside DOC/DOCG regulations but were considered of high quality and commanded high prices. Many of these wines became cult wines. In the reformation of the Italian classification system many of the original Super Tuscans now qualify as DOC or DOCG wines but some producers still prefer the declassified rankings or to use the Indicazione Geografica Tipica (IGT) classification of Toscana. Tuscany has six sub-categories of IGT wines today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Synagogue (Prague)</span>

The Spanish Synagogue is the newest synagogue in the area of the so-called Jewish Town; it was in fact built at the site of the presumably oldest synagogue, Old School. The synagogue is built in Moorish Revival Style. Only a little park with a modern statue of Franz Kafka lies between it and the Church of the Holy Spirit. Today, the Spanish Synagogue is administered by the Jewish Museum in Prague.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Temple Gemiluth Chessed</span> Synagogue in Port Gibson, Mississippi

Temple Gemiluth Chessed is a former Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 706 Church Street, in Port Gibson, Mississippi, in the United States. Built in 1892, it is the oldest congregation in the state and the only building completed in the Moorish Revival style. The congregation was founded in 1870 by a community of Jewish immigrants from German states and Alsace-Lorraine. Due to declining population as people moved to larger urban areas, the congregation closed in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Livorno</span>

The history of the Jews in Livorno, Italy has been documented since 1583, when descendants of the late 15th-century expulsions from Spain and Portugal settled in the city. They were settled initially by Sephardic Jews from Pisa. The Jewish community of Livorno, although the youngest among the historic Jewish communities of Italy, was for some time the foremost: its members achieved political rights and wealth, and contributed to scholarship in the thriving port city. Numerous Jewish schools and welfare institutions were established.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pisa–Florence railway</span>

The Pisa–Florence railway is a line built in the 1840s connecting the Tuscan cities of Florence, Pisa and Livorno, passing through Empoli and Pontedera. It is 101 km long and fully electrified at 3,000 V DC. Passenger traffic is managed by Trenitalia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Jews in Florence</span>

The history of the Jews in Florence can be traced over nine hundred years. Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. The Jews of Florence have one of the oldest continuous Jewish communities in Europe. The historic Jewish community in Florence is one of the largest and one of the most influential Jewish communities in Italy. The Jewish community in Florence also serves the smaller neighboring Jewish communities in Pisa, Livorno, and Siena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Synagogue, Lutsk</span> Former synagogue in Lutsk, Ukraine

The Great Synagogue in Lutsk, Ukraine, is a Renaissance building with a tower. Located in the Jewish quarter, it was the religious, educational and community centre of Lutsk Jews until the invasion of Poland in the Second World War. It was built in 1626 and is a good example of a fortress synagogue. Partially destroyed in 1942, the synagogue was restored in the 1970s. It is now used as a sports club.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Florence, Tuscany, Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Museum of Florence</span> History museum in Italy

The Jewish Museum of Florence is a museum of Jewish history located in the Great Synagogue of Florence, Italy. The museum, which covers two spaces of the building, gathers an important collection of ancient objects of Jewish ceremonial art, evidence of the high artistic level achieved by the Jewish-Italian communities in the field of applied arts. Exhibitions illustrate the history of Florentine Jews from the first settlements to the post-war reconstruction, featuring old photographs, films and a large number of objects of daily and commemorative use.

References

  1. 1 2 3 H.A. Meek, The Synagogue, Phaidon, London, 1995, p.198
  2. Synagogue of Florence, The :: Via Farini 4, Florence, Tuscany, Italy :: Glass Steel and Stone Archived 31 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  3. "Tempio Maggiore, The Great Synagogue of Florence, Italy | Beit Hatfutsot". The Museum of the Jewish People at Beit Hatfutsot. Retrieved 16 February 2018.
  4. "Tuscan Traveler's Tales – Open House at the Synagogue | Tuscan Traveler" . Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  5. "Jewish Summer Tuscany Tour - Sinagoga e Cimitero ebraico di Pisa - Firenze, Pisa, Siena". www.coopculture.it (in Italian). Retrieved 30 June 2021.
  6. "Synagogue of Florence and Museum of Hebraic art and culture - Florence". www.museumsinflorence.com. Retrieved 30 June 2021.

Commons-logo.svg Media related to Synagogue of Florence at Wikimedia Commons