Ferrara Synagogue
Encyclopedia
The Ferrara Synagogue is a synagogue
located in Ferrara
, Italy
.
The synagogue is the sole surviving synagogue is the only surviving representative of the several synagogues that once flourished in Ferrara. It is located in the historic Jewish community building of 1421 at 95 via Mazzini, which once housed two other synagogues, destroyed by fascists during WWII. Other synagogues were once located nearby. The building also houses a Jewish museum
.
from Egypt
, and the vestments of the High Priest in the Temple at Jerusalem. The synagogue retains its 18th century bimah
and Torah Ark in dark wood, set off by a white marble balustrade.
ceiling. Other furnishing were destroyed in a fascist attack on the building. The museum also displays several Torah arks from former synagogues in small towns in the region..
Among the artifacts are an eighteenth-century contract between a local Jewish family and a newly hired nursemaid in which the nursemaid undertakes not to baptize the Jewish baby. And a stamp used to seal Jewish graves to prevent medical students at the university from using the cadavers for dissection practice..
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
located in Ferrara
Ferrara
Ferrara is a city and comune in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital city of the Province of Ferrara. It is situated 50 km north-northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream of the Po River, located 5 km north...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
The synagogue is the sole surviving synagogue is the only surviving representative of the several synagogues that once flourished in Ferrara. It is located in the historic Jewish community building of 1421 at 95 via Mazzini, which once housed two other synagogues, destroyed by fascists during WWII. Other synagogues were once located nearby. The building also houses a Jewish museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
.
Synagogue
The surviving synagogue, the Scola Tedesca, German Synagogue, is a large room with a women's gallery upstairs. The barrel-vaulted ceiling and walls are decorated in the Regency/Empire style fashionable when the room was renovated in 1820. The plaster designs on the walls are the work of Gaetano Davia, designer of the interior design of the Ferrara City Theater, Taetro Communale. They feature Jewish motifs such as the Torah Ark carried by the Jews during their ExodusThe Exodus
The Exodus is the story of the departure of the Israelites from ancient Egypt described in the Hebrew Bible.Narrowly defined, the term refers only to the departure from Egypt described in the Book of Exodus; more widely, it takes in the subsequent law-givings and wanderings in the wilderness...
from Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, and the vestments of the High Priest in the Temple at Jerusalem. The synagogue retains its 18th century bimah
Bimah
A bimah A bimah A bimah (among Ashkenazim, derived from Hebrew בּמה , almemar (from Arabic al-minbar) or tebah (among Sephardim) is the elevated area or platform in a Jewish synagogue which is intended to serve the place where the person reading aloud from the Torah stands during the Torah reading...
and Torah Ark in dark wood, set off by a white marble balustrade.
Jewish Museum
The museum displays the Torah Ark of the Scola Italiana, Italian rite synagogue, once located in a large room in the same building. The room, now in use as a lecture hall, retains its original, vaulted, BaroqueBaroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
ceiling. Other furnishing were destroyed in a fascist attack on the building. The museum also displays several Torah arks from former synagogues in small towns in the region..
Among the artifacts are an eighteenth-century contract between a local Jewish family and a newly hired nursemaid in which the nursemaid undertakes not to baptize the Jewish baby. And a stamp used to seal Jewish graves to prevent medical students at the university from using the cadavers for dissection practice..