La Giudecca
La Giudecca was a term used In Southern Italy and Sicily to identify any urban district (or a portion of a village) where Jewish communities dwelled and had their synagogues and businesses. Unlike the compulsory ghettos of Northern Italy and elsewhere, in some Southern Italian hamlets and cities Jewish families and their members voluntarily chose to live in certain areas but were free to travel and even contribute together with their Christian neighbours to the success or commercial, cultural and artistic progress of a region. A very few Sicilian Giudeccas were unhealthy and declined, in fact, the majority  included many craftsmen, doctors and tradesmen. Etymology. "Judeca" and "Giudecca" are the corrupt or jargonized medieval versions of the Latin female adjective "Judaica", meaning "Jewish" or "Judaean". "The Jewess" or "The Jewry" are other plausible meanings. It is not known why the Venetian island of Giudecca acquired that name, as there is no evidence of Jewish settlement there. The word "Giudecca" is also used in Dante's Inferno for the lowest circle of Hell, in which Judas ("Giuda") resides.