Synagogue of Pisa

Synagogue of Pisa
Sinagoga di Pisa
Facade of the building
Religion
Affiliation	Judaism
Rite	Spanish rite [1]
Location
Location	Pisa, Tuscany, Italy
Interactive map of Synagogue of Pisa
Coordinates	43°42′59″N10°24′17″E / 43.71639°N 10.40472°E / 43.71639; 10.40472
Architecture
Architect	Marco Treves  [ it ]
Style	Italianate
Completed	14th century (building) 1785 (restoration) 1863 (major renovation)

The Synagogue of Pisa (Italian : Sinagoga di Pisa) is a 16th-century Jewish synagogue located in Pisa, Italy. ^[2] It is located on Via Palestro 24, and contains many historic Jewish objects, including a Torah ark dating to the 16th century, and a parochet dating to 1470. ^[3]

History

Interior of the synagogue

The synagogue's building dates back to the 14th century, and was converted to a place of worship in 1595. ^[4] Prior to the move, the congregation worshiped for a few years in a home in Lungarno Galileo neighborhood. ^[5] The congregation transferred a Torah scroll to the synagogue in the Florentine Ghetto ^[6] after Jews were forced to flee following the creation of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and later under Maggino Gabrielli, the Consul-elect of the Jews in Pisa at the time, orders were made to extract the Torah from its cabinet. ^[7] It was also used for worship by the Jews in the city of Livorno until they had their own place to worship in 1598. ^[8]

The synagogue was restored in 1785, when it had been nearly 2 centuries since its conversion to a synagogue. ^[9] In 1816, records indicate Sara Nunez de Paz dedicated 200 bits of 8 reales to the maintenance of the lamp (presumably the candelabra) in the synagogue. ^[10]

Pisa's synagogue was completely renovated to its current style in 1863 by Jewish-Vercellese architect Marco Treves  [ it ]. ^[11] The facade was redone with a central door, rounded windows, oval windows, and triangular tympanum. It also had a mikveh and Kosher slaughterhouse connected to it, which are no longer present. ^[9] The interior was redone as well, while maintaining the same general indoor frame. It contains a large square hall, with a women's section protruding from the entrance and stucco walls. The bimah is made of wood with a railing and turned balustrades. The Torah ark is made of marble and is flanked on both sides by pairs of columns with Corinthian capitals and a triangular tympanum. Prominent Italian-Jewish activist Umberto Nahon (1905–1974) donated several pews in honor of Lady Judith Montefiore, as he was the great-grandson of Moise Haim Racah, an attendant of that synagogue in the 19th century. ^[12]

In the 1990s, the congregation partnered with the University of Pisa to host a conference on the history of the Jews in the city. ^[13]

In 2007, the building was severely damaged as a result of a thunderstorm, with lightning destroying the roof. The synagogue was unusuable for around eight years. While repairs were still being planned, the front of the synagogue was defaced with red paint on January 12, 2009 during the nighttime. Police in the city stated that the motive behind the vandalism was found to have been in response to political tension between Israel and Gaza. ^[14] The grand reopening was held on June 21, 2015 with an inaugural ceremony. ^[15] It was attended by various guests including the spiritual leader of the Muslim community in Pisa, Imam Mohamed Khalil. The rabbi of the Jewish community of Pisa referred to him as "one of our confreres". ^[16]

References

1. Scritti sull'ebraismo in memoria di Guido Bedarida (in Italian). Bet-ha-ari. 1966. p. 230.
2. Luzzati, Michele (1997). La sinagoga di Pisa: dalle origini al restauro ottocentesco di Marco Treves (in Italian). EDIFIR. ISBN   978-88-7970-045-0.
3. "Sinagoga e cimitero ebraico riaprono alle visite". www.quinewspisa.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-11-24.
4. Roth, Cecil (1972). Encyclopaedia Judaica: A-Z. Encyclopaedia Judaica. p. 561.
5. Salvadori, Roberto G. (1995). Breve storia degli ebrei toscani: IX-XX secolo (in Italian). Lettere. p. 53. ISBN   978-88-7166-221-3.
6. Toaff, Renzo (1990). La nazione ebrea a Livorno e a Pisa (1591-1700) (in Italian). L.S. Olschki. p. 531. ISBN   978-88-222-3741-5.
7. Vari, Autori (2025-01-17). La Livornina: Alle origini di Livorno, città cosmopolita in età moderna (in Italian). Viella Libreria Editrice. p. 48. ISBN   979-12-5469-792-4.
8. Luzzati, Michele (2005). Ebrei ed ebraismo a Pisa: un millennio di ininterrotta presenza (in Italian). ETS. p. 37. ISBN   978-88-467-1244-8.
9. "Attrazioni | La Sinagoga Ebraica di Pisa". Terre di Pisa (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-11-24.
10. La legge: monitore giudiziario e amministrativo del Regno d'Italia (in Italian). Ricci. 1911. p. 2375.
11. Myr, Ilaria (2015-06-22). "Pisa, inaugurata la sinagoga dopo i restauri". Mosaico (in Italian). Retrieved 2025-11-24.
12. Nahon, Umberto (1965). Una vita al servizio dell'ebraismo, Sir Moses Montefiore, Livorno,1784 - Ramsgate, 1885 (in Italian). Fondazione Sally Mayer. p. 80.
13. Ago, Renata; Palazzi, Maura; Pomata, Gianna (1994). Costruire la parentela: donne e uomine nella definizione dei legami familiari (in Italian). Il Mulino. ISBN   978-88-15-04603-1.
14. "Uova con vernice rossa sulla sinagoga Un gesto da ricollegarsi al conflitto di Gaza - Corriere Fiorentino". corrierefiorentino.corriere.it. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
15. "Pisa, in sinagoga la festa di tutti". Moked (in Italian). 2015-06-22. Retrieved 2025-11-24.
16. "Pisa, inaugurazione restauro sinagoga: c'è anche l'Imam". la Repubblica (in Italian). 2015-06-21. Retrieved 2025-11-24.