No Comments

Walking tour of Jewish Venice, touring the Jewish Museum and the synagogues in Venice

Welcome to Venice! – Jewish Venice tour – Jewish Museum and the synagogues in Venice –

I am Lucia Bondetti, a guide trained and accredited by the Jewish Community of Venice and Rabbi, texted by exam on June 2024. This is my favorite tour in Venice! See my reviews here 

Here some info for you about the visits possible in the Jewish Ghetto of Venice.

 

Touring the Jewish museum of Venice and the five synagogues will finally be possible in May 2025 (I will update the page).

At the moment (February 2025) I am touring with you the secret garden and  two Sephardic Synagogues (Levantine and Spanish) and on Friday the Italian Synagogue.

 

In few months the Jewish Museum and the synagogues in Venice will be totally open to the public and the tour will be much more complete that it has ever been.

 

Who I am? I am Lucia Bondetti, I am a licensed tour guide in Venice, specializing in providing in-depth, culturally rich experiences for visitors to this iconic city. With approval from the Venice Jewish Community and the Rabbi, I am certified to lead tours inside Venice’s synagogues, offering unique insights into the city’s Jewish heritage and history. My passion for Venice, combined with my deep respect for its history and culture, allows me to share a truly authentic and educational experience, whether you’re exploring the main sights or the hidden gems that only a local would know.

 

Jewish Museum and the synagogues in Venice tour

My proposals:

at the moment I propose 2 small group tours and 3 private tours of the Jewish Ghetto of Venice.

Keep in mind that the Synagogues and Museum are always closed to visitors on Saturdays and Jewish holidays.

Why choosing my Jewish ghetto tour and the new Jewish Museum and the synagogues in Venice tour?

The ones I have met since 2017 will remember that my Jewish Ghetto tour cover several aspects:

  • Discover the origin of the word “ghetto” and try to speak a little bit of Venitian
  • You will learn the amazing history of this place and its special buildings called the Venetian skyscrapers
  • How looked like this area during the Serenissima Republic ?
  • How long Venice forced Jews to live segregated in the ghettos?
  • Why Venice created the 1st Jewish Ghetto of the world?
  • Let’s discuss about the WW2 in Venice
  • Let’s speak about the great people used to live in the area
  • Learn about the particular culture, habits and  traditions
  • Learn about the Jewish food and special recipes

Adding the Jewish Museum and the synagogues in Venice we will include something that cannot be seen anywhere else. The synagogues in Venice were not rebuilt after the unification of Italy and the emancipation of Jews started in 1797 and completed in 1861 when Venice became part of Italy.

How to book The Jewish Ghetto in Venice tour with additional Jewish Museum and the synagogues

Send me an email to info@venicewalksandtours,it or luciaveniceguide@gmail.com or contact me here 

How much a Jewish ghetto tour and Jewish museum and synagogues in Venice cost?

The cost depends on the tour, check it clicking on the tour you prefer.

at the moment I propose 2 small group tours and 3 private tours of the Jewish Ghetto of Venice.

A bit of the history of the Jewish ghetto of Venice

  • Before the institution of the first ghetto of the world in 1516, Jews had been given permission to permanently settle in Venice at about the end of the 14th century, to be then banished in 1395 when a large part of them settled in Mestre (mainland) and allowed to return after the so called Cambrai League at the beginning of the 16 century.
  • After Venice was defeated at Agnadello in 1509 and a difficult social and economic situation set it, Doge and Senators (Venetian government) allowed Jews to move to the city center of Venice with a pass agreed in 1513, in return for an annual tribute of 6500 ducats. Many buildings close to Rialto housed Jewish Families but this sparked noisy protest from the Venetian and the Franciscan friars.
  • Rejecting a proposal to shut them up on the Giudecca or on the island of Murano, the Senate issued a decree on 29 March 5016 confining Jews to the “Ghetto Nuovo”.“All Jews currently living in various parts of the city and those that come to the city hereafter are bound to go at once to live together in the houses situated in the Ghetto, a very spacious area close to [the church of] San Girolamo”.
  • On 25 April 1797, Napoleon openly threatened to declare war on Venice unless it democratised. The Venetian Senate acceded to numerous demands, but facing increasing rebellion and the threat of foreign invasion, it abdicated in favor of a transitional government of Jacobins (and thus the French). On 12 May, Ludovico the last doge of Venice, formally abolished the Most Serene Republic of Venice after 1,100 years of existence.
  • In 1797 Napoleone Bonaparte ordered to burn the gates which used to lock the ghettos during the night.  Bonaparte let Venetian Jews leave the area and set them free to live where they wanted. Not that this meant all Jews left the ghetto from one day to the other, but it slowly brought to a geographical dispersion of the community and consequently to a stronger secular approach to Judaism.
  • The real emancipation of Jews happened in 1861 when Venice became part of Italy.

Lucia Bondetti

www.venicewalksandtours.it

 

Contact me