Jewish Italy

A travel guide to Jewish Italy, from kosher restaurants and hotels in Rome, Florence, and Venice to historic synagogues and other jewish sights in Italy, as well as Jewish tours, schuls, mikvahs, and more

Italy is home to Europe's oldest Jewish population, in Rome (started by early immigrants back when ancient Judea was part of the Roman Empire). I promise to put more info here soon. In the meantime, you can find much more about Jewish life and history in Italy at the following sites:

www.jewishitaly.org - Bare bones, but puts you on the track for info on sights and attractions of interest to Jews in Italy, as well as kosher restaurants and hotels, Jewish tours, mikvahs, synagogues, schools, and more.

www.ruthellengruber.com - Website of a noted ex-pat American writer and expert on European Judaica living in Italy. In full disclosure, I should note that Ruth is a personal friend (known her since I was 11 years old, in fact). Her blog, jewish-heritage-travel.blogspot.com, is particularly interesting.

www.kosherdelight.com/Italylinks.htm - Random, un-annotated set of links to websites of interest for Jews in Italy and Jewish sights.

www.totallyjewishtravel.com - A good resource for Jewish travel in general.

Major Jewish sights in Italy

• The Jewish Ghetto of Venice
• The Jewish Ghetto and Jewish catacombs of Rome
• The Synagogue of Florence

Keeping Kosher

The Italian word for "kosher" is "lecito" (which just means "legal" or "allowed by law")—though often the classic Kàsher (often spelled cascer) is used as well. All of Italy's major cities all have at least one Kosher restaurant, and often several Kosher/Jewish bakeries, butchers, and food shops.

• Kosher dining in Rome
• Kosher dining in Florence
• Kosher dining in Venice
• Kosher dining in Milan

There are also hotels, B&Bs, and inns that keep Kosher and serve Kàsher breakfasts:

• Kosher hotels in Rome
• Kosher hotels in Venice

Tips & links

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