Claustrophobia was yet another burden that went with living in the ghetto. Although they shared a common religious tradition and were subject to the same legal disabilities, the ghetto dwellers were surprisingly diverse. Each nationality had its own synagogue. The Jewish museum's guided ghetto tour begins with a visit to the Italian synagogue, located in one of the tall tenements facing the campo. So their synagogue occupied the entire top floor of a tenement, and was reached by six flights of steep and narrow stairs.
Visitors frequently arrive out of breath, but so probably did many worshipers.
Built in 1575, the Italan synagogue is no longer used for worship but is preserved as a museum. Architecture was one of the professions Jews were forbidden to practice, and the Italian synagogue, like others in the ghetto, was designed by a Christian architect who specialized in churches. So, as in Italian churches of the period, there is a great deal of painted stucco and much gilded wood. The sanctuary also includes a high and ornate pulpit of the sort Catholic priests mounted to give their sermons at Mass on Sundays. Distinctively Jewish features include a screened balcony for the women, who, according to custom, worshiped separately from men.