Synagogue and Jewish Cemetery of Pisa

VISIT TO THE JEWISH CEMETERY

Used since 1674, it was preceded by at least three other Jewish cemeteries of which some epigraphic traces remain on the Walls.
It presents a variety of styles: from the trapezoidal parallelepiped-shaped mounds and the roundish stems of Iberian tradition to the Empire style monuments of the early nineteenth century; from the Gothic tabernacles of the mid-nineteenth century to the Liberty and Umbertine styles of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
It is a historical document that reflects four centuries life of the Pisan Jewish settlement: if in the 17th and 18th centuries the people who were buried were mostly Jews of Spanish and Portuguese origin, later the cemetery is characterized as Italian, not forgetting Jews from Central and Eastern Europe who came to the city for study.
We can reach the tombs of the Jewish soldiers who died during the First World War and the Jews who were victims of Nazi-Fascist persecution.
The names of those who were deported and disappeared in the extermination camps are remembered by a plaque on the wall of the mortuary chapel in the centre of the cemetery.


VISIT TO THE SYNAGOGUE

It was first restored in 1785 and then completely renovated around 1860 based on a project by the Piedmontese architect Marco Treves.
Outside it combines with the urban context, inside it has the traditional location of the worship hall on the upper floor, which is accessed by a large, elegant staircase.
The Aron ha-Kodesh, the ark containing the Torah's scrolls, is near the Tevà (or Bimà), the podium for reading and reciting public prayers, creating a single large composition located in the eastern part of the rectangular hall whose entrance, on the short side, is accentuated by two rows of columns supporting the matronee. The carved wooden benches  are arranged in parallel and oriented towards the Aron.
The space of the hall is covered by a pavilion vault, in the form of a large inflated sail, decorated with geometric motifs, according to Jewish law which forbids figurative representations.

Visiting the Synagogue and the Jewish Cemetery is an experience not to be missed, to live an exciting chapter in the history of the Tuscan Jewish community.