FROM ROME TO TRIESTE: DISCOVER THE JEWISH HERITAGE IN ITALY
Thanks to this tour, you will discover where the Jewish presence had great importance for its economic and cultural contribution in Italy.
The tour will start in Rome, home to the only Jewish community that has always been in the same place since before the Diaspora.
In Pitigliano, the "Little Jerusalem", the beauty of the landscape and its medieval center with narrow streets will surprise you. You will taste the famous wine "Bianco di Pitigliano" but you will also learn that imprisonment in the ghetto has not hindered relations between the Jews and the local population.
In Florence, the city of arts, you will visit the synagogue in the Moorish style and the Jewish cemetery with gravestones made by famous artists and architects; you will walk among its beautiful landmarks and do not miss a stop on the famous Ponte Vecchio.
Bologna will amaze you for its cultural richness: here you will find traces of the Jewish presence behind a memorial plaque or an inscription, but also in the many documents preserved in museums and libraries. Obviously, do not miss a taste of the famous tortellini bolognesi. (even kosher style?)
Departing from Bologna, you will discover the enchanting Venice, the city where the word "ghetto" was used for the first time (from the Venetian word "geto" indicating the foundry) meaning a urban area, former copper foundry, where the local jewish were obliged to work and live and kept closed during the nights. In Venice, the synagogues built inside apartments are small precious jewels and also the rich Jewish Museum worth a visit as well as the beautiful area of the former ghetto as well as the fabulous and scenic St Mark’s Square.
After Venice we propose to "leave" of the regular itineraries and give time to a visit to the city of Trieste, where Italian, Austrian, Slovenian and Hungarian culture have intermingled for centuries, and have left many traces in both architecture and culinary tradition.
Trieste, the "Gate of Zion", is the city that helped thousands of Jews from Central and Eastern Europe emigrate to the current state of Israel in the XX century, but has been always an important center where the Jewish community flourished. In fact some of its members founded important enterprises the first insurance companies (such as Generali) and were counted among the leading intellectuals. Here we find one of the largest and synagogues in Europe.
ITINERARY:
1º day: arrival at Rome airport and private transfer to the hotel in the city center. Free time. Dinner. Overnight in Rome.
2º day – ROME
Breakfast. Meeting with your guide at the hotel and sightseeing tour of Jewish Rome: the Jewish quarter, the Synagogue, one of the largest synagogues erected in Europe between 1901 and 1904, and the Jewish Museum. In the afternoon you can choose between a guided tour of the city center with Fontana di Trevi, Coloseum, Piazza Navona, or a guided tour of the Vatican Museum, where you will find also Jewish manuscripts, or you can have time at leisure for shopping. Dinner. Overnight in Rome.
3º day - ROME - PITIGLIANO – FLORENCE
Breakfast. Transfer with private coach to Pitigliano and stop for the guided tour of the little city. Pitigliano housed the Jews perhaps since the late fifteenth century and became for them an important center of refuge in central Italy, so much to erect a Temple in 1598. Lunch then transfer to Florence. Dinner and overnight in Florence.
4º day - FLORENCE – BOLOGNA
Breakfast. Guided tour of the Jewish sites in Florence: the Synagogue and the Jewish Museum. Lunch and taste of the famous Chianti wine. In the afternoon, transfer to Bologna. Weather permitting stopover at Outlet Village “Barberino del Mugello” for shopping. Check-in in hotel in Bologna, dinner and overnight.
5º day - BOLOGNA – VENICE
Breakfast. Guided tour of the Jewish sites of Bologna, with a stop for lunch. Late afternoon transfer to Venice. Dinner. Overnight in Venice.
6º day – VENICE
Breakfast. Guided tour of the ghetto area, the Museum and the Synagogues. Lunch. In the afternoon you can choose between a guided tour of the historic center with Piazza San Marco, Rialto Bridge, the district of Dorsoduro, or take an excursion to the islands of Murano and Burano, or have free time for shopping. Dinner. Overnight in Venice.
7º day - VENICE – TRIESTE
Breakfast. Transfer to Trieste. Visit the enchanting Miramare Castle and its Park. Built by the will of Archduke Maximilian of Habsburg in 1855 as a residence in keeping with his rank, overlooking the sea and surrounded by an extensive garden. After the visit, transfer to the Carso area where you will visit and taste local wines accompanied by typical products. In the afternoon guided tour of the Jewish Trieste, with the Synagogue and the Jewish Museum. Dinner. Overnight in Trieste.
8º day: TRIESTE - DEPARTURE
Breakfast at the hotel. Guided tour of the Jewish cemetery and the Risiera di San Sabba, the only Nazi extermination camp in Italy. Lunch. Transfer to the airport.
TOSCANA: THE LAND OF BEAUTY
Tour 7 nights – 8 days
The first traces of the Jewish presence in Tuscany go back to 1160, but the most interesting history developed in 16th century. At that time in Florence and Siena the ghetto was established, while the Grand Duke Ferdinando I de’ Medici issued “Livorniana” letters, inviting Jewish merchants to settle in Livorno and Pisa, granting them freedom in religion and commerce. Many refugees from the Spain moved to Livorno, the only city under the Medici’s not to have a ghetto, and like Pitigliano, Sorano e Sovana, considered a “land of shelter”.
The condition of the Jews in Tuscany has been conditioned by the many conflicts for the domain of the region, but several memories of the Jewish presence had survived until these days.
DAY 1 – ROME
Arrival at Rome airport and transfer to the hotel. In the afternoon meeting with the guide for the guided tour of the historic monuments: Colosseum, Fori Imperiali, Fontana di Trevi, Piazza Navona. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
DAY 2 – ROME
Breakfast. Guided tour of the Jewish ghetto, with its beautiful synagogue and the interesting museum. Lunch. In the afternoon, visit to the Vatican Museum under the Jewish aspect. Dinner and overnight in Rome.
DAY 3 – PITIGLIANO – SIENA
Breakfast. Transfer to Pitigliano, also known as “Little Jerusalem”, was the liveliest Jewish rural center in Italy, where the creation of the ghetto did not stop the relationships between Jews and the population. Guided tour of the Medieval centre, with tasting of the famous wine “Bianco di Pitigliano”. In the afternoon transfer to Siena, where every year the traditional Palio is held. Free time. Dinner. Overnight in Siena.
DAY 4 – SIENA – FIRENZE
Breakfast. Guided tour of Jewish Siena, and of its historic centre. The Jews had to defend themselves from the many anti-Semitic attacks. Signs of their presence are the synagogue, and some corners of the ex-ghetto, which one today can deduce by the names of some streets. Lunch. Transfer to San Gimignano for a visit of the Medieval town. Transfer to Florence. Dinner. Overnight in Florence.
DAY 5 – FLORENCE
Breakfast. Florence, the marvellous city of arts, hides a Jewish history still visible in its monumental synagogue in Moorish style, and in the streets of the ex-ghetto. In this beautiful city you will also admire the many monuments and palaces which made up the history of Florence, and of course a stroll on the famous Ponte Vecchio. Lunch. In the afternoon guided tour of the beautiful city centre, and on request, it ill be possible to visit Galleria degli Uffizi. Dinner. Overnight in Florence.
DAY 6 – FLORENCE – PISA
Breakfast. Free morning for shopping (on request it will be possible to go to the Mall Outlet outside Florence). Lunch. Transfer to Pisa. In the afternoon visit of the Tower of Pisa. Dinner. Overnight in Pisa.
DAY 7 – PISA – LIVORNO
Breakfast. Guided tour of Jewish Pisa with its important cemetery. Lunch. Transfer to Livorno. Dinner. Overnight in Livorno.
DAY 8 – LIVORNO - DEPARTURE
Breakfast. Livorno is known as the “city without a ghetto” and in 17th century it became the symbol of freedom, as “Jewish, Turkish and Moorish” merchants had the right to freely settle there with freedom in religion and commerce. Guided tour of Livorno. Lunch. Departure.