Sunday in Rome- visit to the Ghetto and Centro Storico

Sunday October 10 was another beautiful day, though a few degrees cooler.  High of 21C, but lots of blue sky.

We started our day with espressos made by Alonso on our Nanopresso (fabulous travel espresso machine that makes a great crema).

Alonso's expert touch with the Nanopresso

A great espresso

We then headed to the old Jewish Ghetto, across the Tiber from Trastevere.

Crossing the Tiber-- one way is the view of St. Peter's  Basilica

The other way is the view of the Great Synagogue of Rome (Tempio Maggiore de Roma)

We passed a sign for the upcoming Rome Film Festival.  Unfortunately, we'll be leaving Rome before it starts.

Sign for Rome Film Festival October 14-24

Our first stop was going to be the Antico Forno Urbani, a kosher bakery that has a great reputation.  Unfortunately, the lineup was too long and as we were planning to have lunch out we didn't really need anything.

Very small entrance and only a few people allowed in at a time

It seemed that the entire city of Rome wanted to eat at the restaurants on the main street of the Ghetto, Via del Portico d'Ottavia.  

The scene

One of the busy restaurants on the main street of the Ghetto

We decided to wander a bit first as most restaurants were full of people with reservations.

We saw a couple having wedding pictures taken

We walked by the Portico d'Ottavia- built in the first century A.D.

Roman ruins in the Ghetto - Portico d'Ottavia 

Another view

These ruins are right beside the square from which 1023 Jews were deported to Auschwitz on October 16, 1943.  Only 16 survived.

Folks waiting to enter ruins-- plaque read "Largo 16 Octobre 1943"

The history of Rome's Jews is a fascinating one.  Jews have been in Rome uninterrupted for more than 2000 years and it is Europe's oldest Jewish community.  The Ghetto was established in 1555 by Pope Paul IV, revoking all the rights that had been granted to Roman Jews.  It was originally a walled ghetto (Jews had to pay for the wall) and there were only two gates for access (increased to 8 gates during the 19th century).  Everyday life was very hard as Jews (which numbered about 2000 in 1555) had to reside in the ghetto.  Its gates were locked at night.  Jews could not own property, were only permitted certain jobs and were subject to compulsory Catholic sermons on the Jewish sabbath.  The men had to wear a yellow cloth and the women a yellow veil when they went outside the ghetto.  They had to pay a yearly tax to live in the ghetto, which was only abolished in 1850.

The Ghetto was controlled by the papacy until 1870, when the Papal States ceased to exist and were combined with the rest of the peninsula into the newly created Kingdom of Italy.  The requirement that Jews live in the Ghetto ended.  While once home to around 10,000 Jews, by 1870 the population was less than half of that-- crowding, restrictions and disease had taken their toll.  The walls were torn down in 1888.  In 1904, the Great Synagogue was erected. 

Plaque commemorating the deported Jews

There was a new exhibit put on by the Fondazione Museo Della Shoah, in a very old building dating back to the 15th century, dealing with the deportation of Italian Jews to Auschwitz.

Poster for exhibit

Building with the exhibit

We went to see the exhibit.  There were five small rooms which started with the history of the establishment of Auschwitz, and then dealt with the deportation of Italian Jews, and their fate.  When the Nazis occupied Rome on September 8, 1943, 8000 Jews lived in Rome (1/5 of all Italian Jews).  On September 26, the Jews were ordered to hand over 50 kilograms of gold or Jewish family heads would be deported.  The community delivered this amount on September 28 (with assistance of non-Jewish citizens of Rome).  They thought they would then be safe.  However, on October 16, 1943, German security sealed off the Ghetto and deported 1023 Jews of which only 16 survived.  A total of a quarter of the Jewish population of Rome were eventually deported of which only 102 survived.  The Italian police in Rome, unlike in many other parts of German-occupied Italy, did not participate in the arrest of Jews and the general public objected to the deportations.  For these reasons, a sizeable proportion of the Jews in Rome avoided arrest and survived the Holocaust.  

Most moving were the pictures of Roman Jews before deportation- nearly all of whom never returned

As we left the exhibit, the wedding couple was posing for more pictures.

The Great Synagogue of Rome was around the corner.  It was built in 1904 and is a beautiful building that houses a small museum, which we had visited in 2012.

One side of the Synagogue

The front of the Synagogue-wedding car waiting

It was finally time to eat--- we had a bit of a wait, as we didn't have reservations, but the place we chose to eat, Renato Al Ghetto, was in the sun, and the food looked excellent.

Clearly a favourite with the Romans-- all of the neighbouring tables were Italian speaking

We had the famous carciofo alla guidia (crisp fried artichoke, Jewish style).  Alonso had a very tasty pasta with orata (sea bream) and a lemon sauce and I had a delicious pasta with tomatoes and anchovies. 

Alonso with our food

We then wandered over to the Centre Storico (historic centre).

First stop was Piazza Farnese, one of our favourites.  There is a wonderful jewellery store called Petit Decò on the square, which we visited (no purchases made).

Piazza Farnese

We continued our walk towards a number of streets which were away from the tourist area, where locals hang out.

Most interesting fountain

Wonderful light in Rome 

We decided to stop at Caffè Novecentro, a lovely spot on one of the quiet streets.

Outside the Caffè were a few tables and there was another eating area across the street

Macchiatos and a vegan banana cake.

A lovely spot for a rest

We doubled back to Piazza Farnese.  We saw this amazing installation by JR, the French artist, and friend of Agnes Varda who starred in her documentary Faces, Places which I saw at TIFF a few years ago.  We also had seen a wonderful exhibit of his work at the Brooklyn Museum in 2019.

His installation disguises scaffolding across the front of the Palazzo Farnese, home to the French Embassy, which is undergoing a four year restoration.  The piece is entitled Punto di Fuga (Vanishing Point).  It gives visitors a peep into the palace while it undergoes renovation.

An installation by French artist JR in front of the French Embassy

Then it was back to the apartment where Alonso made chicken with sun-dried tomatoes, tomatoes, green beans and a salad.  Our host gave us a bottle of white wine, which we started tonight as well as olive oil from her family farm and home-made sun-dried tomatoes.  She has been very helpful with suggestions and  responds within minutes of us messaging her.  Tomorrow will be another adventure.