Interview with Baruch Lampronti, representative of the Cultural Heritage Commission of the Jewish Community of Torino and curator of the website Ghetto vecchio. In 1867, the Jewish community obtained a section of the Monumental cemetery, where old graves were resettled. The Jewish cemetery changed its location a few times and for different purposes from the 1400s on to the 19th century. Jews were very involved in the local underground fighting units and found help when the civilians seeked hiding places. The following year, the Germans started deporting Jews.Īmong the 246 who were deported to Auschwitz, only 21 came back to Turin, Primo Levi being one of them. In 1942, a bomb destroyed the inside of the synagogue. The Racial Laws imposed in 1938 had a profound impact on the assimilated Jews of Turin. It’s one of the most famous buildings of contemporary Turin. The construction of the building was finished in 1889 and is 167 meters high. The municipality decided to transform the building known today as the Mole Antonelliana into a museum commemorating King Victor Emmanuel II. But the scale of such a project seemed to big for the Jewish community which had to sell the building to the city of Turin in 1878. But also administrative services, a school and other offices. The building was supposed to have the capacity to welcome 1500 worshippers. Architect Alessandro Antonelli started the construction of the synagogue in 1863. A parcel was bought by the Jewish community to build it. In this emancipation march, it was decided to build a synagogue, before the one known today. Many Jewish writers and artists participated in the development of the city. They gradually integrated the administration, the army and the diplomatic corps. Under Victor Emmanuel II, Jews benefited from a complete emancipation. In that year, about 3200 Jews lived in Turin.Įncouraged by the poet David Levi and the rabbi of Turin Lelio Cantoni, Jews participated in the first War of Independance of Italy. Nevertheless, step by step, such restrictions disappeared and the emancipation was completed in 1848. Photo by Daniel Ventura – Wikipediaįollowing Napoleon’s defeat in 1814, Victor Emmanuel once again denied the freedoms obtained by the Jews. After the French reconquered the territory in 1800, Jews recovered their freedom. The victory of the Austrians and Russians over the French in 1799 forced the Jews to be submitted again to the former restrictions. Following the annexation of the territory to France in 1798, Jews enjoyed a much greater freedom and weren’t obliged anymore to live in the ghetto. The emancipation was a direct consequence of the French Revolution of 1789. After 1724, the number of Jews becoming too big, a new part was added to the ghetto. A neighborhood which was mostly known its charity institution. Within a year, the Jews where confined to these walls. The ghetto was thus created in 1679, at the request of the Regent, Duchess Marie Jeanne Baptiste de Savoie. In 1430, Duke Amedeo VIII decided to create a special status for Jews, imposing many restrictions as well as heavy taxes. Some ten minutes away on foot from the synagogue and the community center, behind the animated Via Roma, one can still see traces of the former ghetto. It is usually named Tempio Piccolo (“the small temple”). It serves to welcome common events and rituals. Later, a smaller synagogue was built inside those walls.
A significant portion of the archives of the Jewish community of Piedmont was also destroyed. Most of which, sadly, were destroyed when the Grand Temple caught fire in 1942 after an Allied bombing. Architect Enrico Petiti did not skimp on the decorations for the building mixing various influences. Needless to say, it was in such spirit that the Jewish community decided to call for a competition of projects celebrating the integration of Turin’s Jews. Opened 16 February 1884 amid great pomp and ceremony, this majestic neo-Moorish building with its four onion-domed towers attests to the elation of Italy’s Jews after their emancipation. The Grand Synagogue deserves a short visit.
In 1424, French Jews Elias Alamanni and Amedeo Foa settled in Turin. The only trace of Jewish presence to have been recorded then on only appeared a thousand years later. The Jewish presence was recorded by the Bishop Maximus of Turin as early as the fourth century. Turin was first the capital of the Duché de Savoie, then of the Kingdom of Sardinia. Turin, the capital of Piedmont, is a good point of departure for visiting other Jewish places of remembrance in the region. Synagogue of Turin © Wikimedia Commons (Olevy)
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