Jews in Rome
Authors: di Nepi Serena , Zappia Andrea 
Published: January 2025

The history of the Jews of Rome is inextricably linked to the fluctuating and complex history of Jewish-Christian relations and their reciprocal evolution. During the centuries of the long Renaissance, the special position of the local Jewish group was further confirmed both for Jews and for Christians. In fact, from the Jewish point of view, the presence of this very ancient community, which had its roots in the era of the Roman Republic and had grown in pontifical Rome, represented a history of millennial resistance. Thus, the Roman community often found itself acting as a spokesperson for the requests of other communities in the pontifical court: a situation that included both the reckless adventures of David Reubeni, introduced by the Jew Daniel da Pisa in the presence of Clement VII (History, Politics, and Messianism: David Ha-Reuveni’s Origin and Mission, cited under Rabbis, Scholars, Illustrious Figures) and, on the other hand, the efforts of eastern European communities to obtain help from Rome in managing accusations of ritual homicide (Blood Libel: On the Trail of an Antisemitic Myth, cited under Ideas and Social Practices: Intolerance, Antisemitism, and Coexistence). From the Christian point of view, the Jews’ experience of survival itself not only testified to the truth and charity of the Christian message and the possibilities of salvation that this brought with it, but also bore witness to the fundamental challenge of obtaining the coveted conversions of Jews (Catholic Thought and Papal Jewry Policy, 1555–1593, cited under Ideas and Social Practices: Intolerance, Antisemitism, and Coexistence; Battesimi forzati: Storie di ebrei, cristiani e convertiti nella Roma dei papi, cited under From One Faith to the Other; Catholic Spectacle and Rome’s Jews: Early Modern Conversion and Resistance, cited under From One Faith to the Other). This dual perspective has always been at the center of interest for scholars, who have investigated the events of the group by intertwining their specific reading of the history of the Universitas Iudaeorum de Urbe with its symbolic and broader spectrum value. Particular attention has been dedicated to the long sixteenth century in this context. Since the classic studies (Geschichte der Juden in Rom, von der Aeltesten Zeit bis zur Gegenwart (2050 Jahre), Storia degli ebrei in Roma dal 140 av. Cr. Fino ad oggi [con Appendice di Crescenzio Del Monte per la parte contemporanea (dal 20 settembre 1870 ad oggi)], and Il ghetto di Roma: Illustrazioni storiche [all cited under Classical Works and Focus on the Topic]), the sixteenth century has been interpreted as a period of transition between a previous and largely positive phase, marked by the Renaissance, and the progressive anti-Jewish hardening of the Counter-Reformation, which then culminated with the birth of the ghetto in 1555. In recent years, however, the history of the Jews of Rome has been at the center of a renewed historiographical interest, which is leading to a complex reorientation of studies: particular attention is now paid to the organization and the social structure, politics, and culture of the community before and after the ghetto (Surviving the Ghetto: Toward a Social History of the Jewish Community in 16th-Century Rome, cited under Ties: Community, Family, and Identity), to the impact of the arrival of the Sephardic refugees (Un’altra Roma. Minoranze nazionali e comunità ebraiche tra Medioevo e Rinascimento, cited under Before the Ghetto), and also to the cultural hotbed of Christian Hebraism (“Bindings and Covers. Fragments of Books and Notebooks from the Biblioteca Angelica”, cited under Literature and Art; Un frammento sconosciuto dello pseudo-Zohar nella Roma del Rinascimento, cited under Literature and Art).