While Save Venice’s 50th Anniversary Campaign for the Italian Synagogue is fully funded, we are still accepting donations to support other conservation needs in the Jewish Ghetto.

You can make a donation to support this work at savevenice.org/donate and by selecting “Jewish Ghetto Projects” in the dropdown menu. All gifts are fully tax-deductible.

In 1516, the Venetian Republic granted permanent residency status to Jews in a restricted area in the Cannaregio district of the city. This land had previously been occupied by metal foundries and was known as the “geto,” from the Venetian word “getar,” meaning to smelt or to cast. It was quickly populated with Jews from throughout Europe and the Mediterranean, creating an international community of Ashkenazi, Sephardic, and Italkim Jews who called their new home the “ghetto” in a variation of the original Venetian terminology.

Multiple sites and works within the ghetto have undergone conservation treatments funded by Save Venice including Scuola Italiana, Scuola Levantina, Scuola Grande Tedesca, the Sukkuh of the Scuola Canton, Hebrew Books from the Renato Maestro Library and Archive, and two Istrian stone benches in the Camp del Ghetto Nuovo.

For more information about visiting the Jewish Ghetto of Venice and Synagogues, please visit:  https://www.ghettovenezia.com/en/opening-hours/