Sephardic Heritage in Italy: A Tour of Livorno, Venice, Ferrara and Ancona
When people plan a Sephardic heritage trip, they usually think of Spain and Portugal: Toledo, Seville, Lisbon.
These places show where Jewish life ended, with the expulsion from Spain in 1492 and the forced conversions in Portugal in 1497.
Italy shows what happened next.
After 1492, many Sephardic families came to Italy. Some stayed for centuries. Others stayed for one or two generations and then moved on to Amsterdam, London, Tunis or the Ottoman Empire. From there, many of their descendants later came to America.
So a Sephardic family with no "Italian" story can still have Italian records.
Four cities hold most of this history: Livorno, Venice, Ferrara and Ancona.
This guide shows what you can still see in each one, how to put them into one trip, and how to find your own family's place on the route.
Italy shows what happened next.
After 1492, many Sephardic families came to Italy. Some stayed for centuries. Others stayed for one or two generations and then moved on to Amsterdam, London, Tunis or the Ottoman Empire. From there, many of their descendants later came to America.
So a Sephardic family with no "Italian" story can still have Italian records.
Four cities hold most of this history: Livorno, Venice, Ferrara and Ancona.
This guide shows what you can still see in each one, how to put them into one trip, and how to find your own family's place on the route.
How Sephardic Jews came to Italy
Sephardic Jews came to Italy in two main groups.
The Levantines went first to the Ottoman Empire, where they could live openly as Jews. Later they came to Italian ports as Ottoman merchants.
The Ponentines, "the Westerners", came from Spain and Portugal. Many of them had lived as Christians for years, sometimes for generations. In Italy, many returned to Judaism.
Italian rulers invited both groups for a simple reason: trade. These families had relatives and business partners in every port of the Mediterranean. The Duke of Ferrara opened his city to them in 1492. Venice gave Levantine merchants a part of its ghetto in 1541. The popes invited Jewish merchants to Ancona in the 1540s. The Medici invited them to Livorno in the 1590s.
But not all of Italy was open. Sicily and Sardinia were ruled by Spain, and their Jews were expelled in 1492 too. The Kingdom of Naples expelled its last Jews in 1541. You can read more in our guides to Jewish Sicily and to the hidden Jews of southern Italy.
The Levantines went first to the Ottoman Empire, where they could live openly as Jews. Later they came to Italian ports as Ottoman merchants.
The Ponentines, "the Westerners", came from Spain and Portugal. Many of them had lived as Christians for years, sometimes for generations. In Italy, many returned to Judaism.
Italian rulers invited both groups for a simple reason: trade. These families had relatives and business partners in every port of the Mediterranean. The Duke of Ferrara opened his city to them in 1492. Venice gave Levantine merchants a part of its ghetto in 1541. The popes invited Jewish merchants to Ancona in the 1540s. The Medici invited them to Livorno in the 1590s.
But not all of Italy was open. Sicily and Sardinia were ruled by Spain, and their Jews were expelled in 1492 too. The Kingdom of Naples expelled its last Jews in 1541. You can read more in our guides to Jewish Sicily and to the hidden Jews of southern Italy.
Four Sephardic cities in Italy at a glance
City | Sephardic families arrived | What you can see today | Good to know |
Livorno | 1590s, invited by the Medici | The synagogue, a small museum with objects from the old synagogue | Never had a ghetto. The museum opens by appointment |
Venice | From 1541 | The Spanish and Levantine synagogues, the old Lido cemetery | You can enter the synagogues only on a guided tour |
Ferrara | 1492 | A plaque on the old Spanish synagogue, the national Jewish museum, the cemetery | The main synagogue building is closed for restoration |
Ancona | 1540s | The Levantine synagogue, the cemetery on the Cardeto hill | Visits are arranged through the Jewish community |
Livorno: the Sephardic city without a ghetto
In 1591 and 1593, Grand Duke Ferdinando I de' Medici published two letters of invitation, known as the Livornine. He invited merchants of every nation to his new port. He promised Jews freedom of religion, freedom to trade and protection from the Inquisition.
Livorno never had a ghetto. It became Italy's main Sephardic city. For generations, community leaders wrote their records in Portuguese and Spanish. In the streets, Jews spoke bagitto, a local dialect that mixed Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew.
From Livorno, families moved on across the Mediterranean. In Tunis, Jews of Livornese origin were called the Grana. Moses Montefiore was born in Livorno in 1784. So was the painter Amedeo Modigliani, a century later.
What to see. The old synagogue was destroyed by bombs in World War II. The new one, designed by the Roman architect Angelo Di Castro, was finished in 1962. Its gilded ark from the 1700s came from the Sephardic synagogue of Pesaro. The small Jewish museum on Via Micali keeps the wooden ark saved from the old synagogue and a Torah crown from 1636.
The museum opens by appointment. Book at least four days ahead, and ask at the same time about visiting the synagogue.
Read more in our Livorno Jewish history guide and in our guide to Livorno Jewish records.
Livorno never had a ghetto. It became Italy's main Sephardic city. For generations, community leaders wrote their records in Portuguese and Spanish. In the streets, Jews spoke bagitto, a local dialect that mixed Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Hebrew.
From Livorno, families moved on across the Mediterranean. In Tunis, Jews of Livornese origin were called the Grana. Moses Montefiore was born in Livorno in 1784. So was the painter Amedeo Modigliani, a century later.
What to see. The old synagogue was destroyed by bombs in World War II. The new one, designed by the Roman architect Angelo Di Castro, was finished in 1962. Its gilded ark from the 1700s came from the Sephardic synagogue of Pesaro. The small Jewish museum on Via Micali keeps the wooden ark saved from the old synagogue and a Torah crown from 1636.
The museum opens by appointment. Book at least four days ahead, and ask at the same time about visiting the synagogue.
Read more in our Livorno Jewish history guide and in our guide to Livorno Jewish records.
Venice: the Spanish and Levantine synagogues
Venice created its ghetto in 1516. In 1541, the city opened a second area, the Ghetto Vecchio, to Levantine merchants. By the end of the 1500s, Venice also accepted Ponentine families from Spain and Portugal.
Each group built its own synagogue. The two still face each other across a small square, the Campiello delle Scuole. The Levantine Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue were founded in the 1500s and rebuilt in the 1600s. Both are still in use. The community prays in the Spanish Synagogue in spring and summer, and in the Levantine Synagogue in the cold months.
What to see. You can enter the synagogues only on a guided tour run by the Jewish Museum of Venice. The museum itself is closed for restoration, but the tours continue. The tour does not always show the same synagogues, so ask which ones are open on your date.
Take a boat to the Lido for the old Jewish cemetery, in use since 1386. Many gravestones of Spanish and Portuguese families carry family coats of arms, such as lions and crowned eagles. Guided visits run in the warm season.
Read more in our Venice Ghetto guide.
Each group built its own synagogue. The two still face each other across a small square, the Campiello delle Scuole. The Levantine Synagogue and the Spanish Synagogue were founded in the 1500s and rebuilt in the 1600s. Both are still in use. The community prays in the Spanish Synagogue in spring and summer, and in the Levantine Synagogue in the cold months.
What to see. You can enter the synagogues only on a guided tour run by the Jewish Museum of Venice. The museum itself is closed for restoration, but the tours continue. The tour does not always show the same synagogues, so ask which ones are open on your date.
Take a boat to the Lido for the old Jewish cemetery, in use since 1386. Many gravestones of Spanish and Portuguese families carry family coats of arms, such as lions and crowned eagles. Guided visits run in the warm season.
Read more in our Venice Ghetto guide.
Ferrara: the Spanish synagogue and the Ferrara Bible
In 1492, Duke Ercole I d'Este invited the Jews expelled from Spain to Ferrara. Later, Portuguese families came too. Around 1550, Doña Gracia Mendes Nasi lived here. She was a rich merchant and a former converso, and she helped many other conversos escape the Inquisition. In Ferrara she lived openly as a Jew.
In 1553, a Spanish translation of the Bible for Sephardic Jews was printed in Ferrara. It is known as the Ferrara Bible. One edition was dedicated to Doña Gracia.
The Spanish community kept its own synagogue on Via Vittoria for centuries. It was wrecked in 1944. Today it is closed, and a plaque on its wall remembers both the welcome of 1492 and the destruction of 1944.
What to see. Start at the Jewish cemetery on Via delle Vigne, which is open only in the morning and closed on Saturdays. Then walk down Via Vittoria to the plaque. In the afternoon, visit MEIS, the national museum of Italian Jewish history and the Shoah. MEIS is closed on Mondays. The synagogue building on Via Mazzini is closed for restoration and is planned to reopen in 2027.
Read more in our Ferrara guide.
In 1553, a Spanish translation of the Bible for Sephardic Jews was printed in Ferrara. It is known as the Ferrara Bible. One edition was dedicated to Doña Gracia.
The Spanish community kept its own synagogue on Via Vittoria for centuries. It was wrecked in 1944. Today it is closed, and a plaque on its wall remembers both the welcome of 1492 and the destruction of 1944.
What to see. Start at the Jewish cemetery on Via delle Vigne, which is open only in the morning and closed on Saturdays. Then walk down Via Vittoria to the plaque. In the afternoon, visit MEIS, the national museum of Italian Jewish history and the Shoah. MEIS is closed on Mondays. The synagogue building on Via Mazzini is closed for restoration and is planned to reopen in 2027.
Read more in our Ferrara guide.
Ancona: Portuguese Jews and the Levantine synagogue
Pesaro. Less than an hour north of Ancona by train, Pesaro has a Spanish-rite synagogue built in 1642. It is no longer used for prayer. It opens on set days, mostly in summer.
Rome. The Jews of Spain who reached Rome built their own synagogues, the Catalan and the Castilian. Today, the Spanish Synagogue inside the Great Synagogue complex still follows the Sephardic rite. Your ticket to the Jewish Museum of Rome includes it.
Read more in our Rome Ghetto guide.
Rome. The Jews of Spain who reached Rome built their own synagogues, the Catalan and the Castilian. Today, the Spanish Synagogue inside the Great Synagogue complex still follows the Sephardic rite. Your ticket to the Jewish Museum of Rome includes it.
Read more in our Rome Ghetto guide.
A Sephardic heritage tour of Italy in 8 days
Start on a Sunday. Shabbat falls in Livorno.
Day 1 (Sunday): Venice. Arrive. In the evening, walk through the Ghetto.
Day 2 (Monday): Venice. Take the guided tour with the Spanish and Levantine synagogues. In the warm season, add the Lido cemetery if a guided visit runs that day.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Ferrara. Take a morning train (about an hour and a half). The cemetery first, then Via Vittoria, then MEIS after lunch.
Day 4 (Wednesday): Ancona. The train takes about three hours, with a change in Bologna. In the afternoon, visit the synagogues on Via Astagno, arranged ahead.
Day 5 (Thursday): Livorno. In the morning, go up to the Cardeto hill. Then take the train to Livorno (about five hours, via Bologna and Florence).
Day 6 (Friday): Livorno. The Jewish museum and the synagogue in the morning. Shabbat begins in the evening. If you want to go to the service, ask the community a few days before.
Day 7 (Saturday): Livorno. A slow day by the sea.
Day 8 (Sunday): home. Pisa airport is about half an hour from Livorno.
With ten days, add Pesaro on Day 5, or end in Rome for its Spanish Synagogue. For routes that include the Ghetto of Rome and Tuscany, see our three sample itineraries.
Day 1 (Sunday): Venice. Arrive. In the evening, walk through the Ghetto.
Day 2 (Monday): Venice. Take the guided tour with the Spanish and Levantine synagogues. In the warm season, add the Lido cemetery if a guided visit runs that day.
Day 3 (Tuesday): Ferrara. Take a morning train (about an hour and a half). The cemetery first, then Via Vittoria, then MEIS after lunch.
Day 4 (Wednesday): Ancona. The train takes about three hours, with a change in Bologna. In the afternoon, visit the synagogues on Via Astagno, arranged ahead.
Day 5 (Thursday): Livorno. In the morning, go up to the Cardeto hill. Then take the train to Livorno (about five hours, via Bologna and Florence).
Day 6 (Friday): Livorno. The Jewish museum and the synagogue in the morning. Shabbat begins in the evening. If you want to go to the service, ask the community a few days before.
Day 7 (Saturday): Livorno. A slow day by the sea.
Day 8 (Sunday): home. Pisa airport is about half an hour from Livorno.
With ten days, add Pesaro on Day 5, or end in Rome for its Spanish Synagogue. For routes that include the Ghetto of Rome and Tuscany, see our three sample itineraries.
Tracing your Sephardic family in Italy
This route shows Sephardic Italy. Your family may have lived on one street of it.
A Spanish or Portuguese surname is a starting point, not proof. Some Sephardic families in Italy used more than one name. Some took Italian names. Others had Jewish names that were not Spanish at all. Our guides to Italian Jewish surnames and to Italian Jewish naming traditions explain how this works.
Families who only passed through Italy often left records too. A few years in Livorno or Ancona can leave a marriage contract, a tax list, a business letter or a gravestone. Records sit in community archives, state archives and notary files, and what survives is different in each city.
At Radici, the research comes first. Our archivists in Italy look for the documents. Then we build the route around what they find: the street, the synagogue, the cemetery.
There are two ways to travel with us:
A Spanish or Portuguese surname is a starting point, not proof. Some Sephardic families in Italy used more than one name. Some took Italian names. Others had Jewish names that were not Spanish at all. Our guides to Italian Jewish surnames and to Italian Jewish naming traditions explain how this works.
Families who only passed through Italy often left records too. A few years in Livorno or Ancona can leave a marriage contract, a tax list, a business letter or a gravestone. Records sit in community archives, state archives and notary files, and what survives is different in each city.
At Radici, the research comes first. Our archivists in Italy look for the documents. Then we build the route around what they find: the street, the synagogue, the cemetery.
There are two ways to travel with us:
- La Mappa. We do the research and prepare a personal itinerary with maps, family addresses and introductions to local communities. You travel on your own.
- Il Viaggio. Our private Jewish heritage tours of Italy. We arrange everything and travel with you. It is for one family of up to four people and usually lasts seven to ten days.
Sephardic heritage in Italy: common questions
Are any Sephardic synagogues in Italy still in use? Yes. In Venice, the community uses the Spanish Synagogue in spring and summer and the Levantine Synagogue in the cold months. The Levantine synagogue of Ancona is still in use. In Rome, the Spanish Synagogue inside the Great Synagogue complex follows the Sephardic rite.
Which Italian city was the most Sephardic? Livorno. It invited Jews in the 1590s, never had a ghetto, and its community kept records in Portuguese and Spanish for generations.
My family came from Turkey, Greece or Tunis. Could they have Italian roots? Possibly. Many Sephardic merchant families moved between Italian ports, the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. In Tunis, families from Livorno were called the Grana. A name, a town or a family story is enough to start.
How is a Sephardic tour of Italy different from a tour of Spain? In Spain and Portugal, most Jewish sites are from before 1492 and 1497. In Italy, Sephardic communities went on living after that. You see synagogues that are still in use, cemeteries and records.
How many days do we need? Eight days are enough for the four cities. With ten days you can add Pesaro or Rome. If you want to know when to go, read when to plan a Jewish heritage trip to Italy.
Which Italian city was the most Sephardic? Livorno. It invited Jews in the 1590s, never had a ghetto, and its community kept records in Portuguese and Spanish for generations.
My family came from Turkey, Greece or Tunis. Could they have Italian roots? Possibly. Many Sephardic merchant families moved between Italian ports, the Ottoman Empire and North Africa. In Tunis, families from Livorno were called the Grana. A name, a town or a family story is enough to start.
How is a Sephardic tour of Italy different from a tour of Spain? In Spain and Portugal, most Jewish sites are from before 1492 and 1497. In Italy, Sephardic communities went on living after that. You see synagogues that are still in use, cemeteries and records.
How many days do we need? Eight days are enough for the four cities. With ten days you can add Pesaro or Rome. If you want to know when to go, read when to plan a Jewish heritage trip to Italy.
Start with a conversation
The first call is free and takes 30 minutes. Tell us what you know: a name, a town, a story from your grandmother. We will tell you which kind of trip fits your family, even if it is not ours.
