The Roman Jewish Ghetto

Name: The Roman Jewish Ghetto
Brand: VoiceMap
SKU: 2673
Price: 8.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.6 (194 reviews)
Author: Giancarlo

(194 reviews)

Rome audio tour: The Roman Jewish Ghetto

This is a 0.5mi walking tour

It takes an average of 60 mins to complete.

Rome

Italy

$8.99

Access all 19 locations offline with the VoiceMap app

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About the Tour

In a city full of history and heritage, the Roman Jewish Ghetto still stands out. Rome is home to Europe's oldest Jewish community, 2,000 years of continuous inhabitance. From 1555 to 1870, the Jews of Rome were confined in a walled-in quarter close to the Tiber. Even after the walls came down, the Ghetto has remained the center of Jewish life in Rome. Walking its alleyways, touching its stones, and visiting its traditional businesses and restaurants, you can feel the millennium-long history of Roman Jewry, from ancient times to the Ghetto era, from the horrors of the Holocaust to the evolving modern community. The story of Roman Jews is a fascinating one, full of tragedy and perseverance and a deep sense of identity. You could read about it in a book, but on this tour, you can see, feel, and even eat it for yourself.

Tour Producer

Giancarlo Buonomo

2 tours

Despite the name, I'm actually American! Born and raised in Boston, I'm now based in the old country. I write about food, history and culture, of which Rome has many more than a lifetime's worth. Here, I'm able to share with you a little bit of what I've learned.

Preview Location

Location 1

Via Arenula - Start of the Jewish Ghetto

You should be standing on the corner of Via Arenula, outside the Santa Maria Bistro. Across the two lane road is the Piazza Benedetto Cairoli.

You're standing at the gateway to the Jewish Ghetto.

My name is Giancarlo, and I'm a journalist based in Rome. I was born in Ame... You should be standing on the corner of Via Arenula, outside the Santa Maria Bistro. Across the two lane road is the Piazza Benedetto Cairoli.

You're standing at the gateway to the Jewish Ghetto.

My name is Giancarlo, and I'm a journalist based in Rome. I was born in America, and am half-Italian and half-Ashkenazi Jewish, meaning my ancestors came from Eastern Europe. I am not, however, an Italian Jew — that is a special category in of itself, and something we'll cover in this tour.

Today, we'll be taking a journey into the Jewish Ghetto to discover the historical home of Roman Jews, a community unlike most others you've probably seen. You'll learn about its history from ancient times until the modern day.

For more than 2000 years, Jews have lived, died, survived and thrived in the city of Rome, making them the oldest Jewish community in Europe.

Since the first contacts between Ancient Rome and Judea in the two centuries before Christ, Jews have lived here, many of them being brought to the city by the Romans as slaves or prisoners of war. In the Middle Ages, Jews in Rome were relatively prosperous, working as lawyers, merchants and even physicians to the Pope himself.

After the Protestant reformation, though, The Catholic Church was eager to punish heretics, and the Jews were a noticeable example. In 1555, Pope Paul IV issued a Papal Bull, which among other abuses, confined the Jews to live in this area, The Ghetto, where 80% of them already lived. Forbidden to work most jobs or take part in Christian society, the Jews of Rome would remain shut in here for more than 300 years, a poor and persecuted minority with little change in lot.

Before we get going, I'll briefly explain how VoiceMap works.

It uses your location to play audio automatically, at the right time and place. This means that you can put your phone away now. Don't worry if I'm silent for a while, when I'm not giving directions or telling stories. There's a map on your screen if you ever feel lost, and if you do get off track without noticing, VoiceMap will let you know.

So, let's get going.

With Via Arenula and the park on your left, turn right and walk down the small cobbled street. Read More

View locations and route

How VoiceMap Works

Focus on your surroundings, not the screen

The VoiceMap app uses GPS to play audio automatically, at the right time and place, so you can focus on your surroundings, not the screen.

Follow a route with turn-by-turn-directions

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a fixed starting point. That lets us give turn-by-turn directions and use context to tell a better story.

Resume playback to go at your own pace

If you'd like to stop for a drink or go into a museum, end your tour then use the Resume feature to pick up exactly where you left off.

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Major Landmarks

Great Synagogue of Rome
Portico d'Ottavia

Getting There

Route Overview

VoiceMap tours follow a route from a set starting point. It’s how we give turn-by-turn directions and tell a story greater than the sum of its parts.

Start location
Via Catalana, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Total distance

878m
Final location
Largo Stefano Gaj Taché, 00186 Roma RM, Italy
Distance back to start location

305.89m

Directions to Starting Point

Start: 20 Via Arenula, Rome

The Ghetto is situated in the historic center of the city, on the banks of the Tiber across from Tiber Island. This tour begins on the Via Arenula, easily accessible on foot from the center, or by the 8 Tram, which goes from Piazza Venezia and through Trastevere.

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Tips

Places to stop along the way

The Ghetto is a great starting point from which you can cross over to explore Tiber Island (which once had its own synagogue!), and then on to Trastevere, one of the oldest and most lively neighborhoods of the city.

Best time of day

This tour is best done in the morning before lunch, or in the early evening, from Sunday through Friday morning. Friday evening and Saturday aren't best, because many of the businesses will be closed for Shabbat.

Precautions

The Ghetto is one of the cleanest and safest areas of Rome, due in part to the round-the-clock police presence granted to the Jewish community. Keep in mind that on Shabbat and Jewish holidays, businesses may be closed, and the synagogue may be reserved for services.

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“This app has become my go-to app for audio tours. I pretty much use it for every trip and it works wonderfully. I highly recommend VoiceMap for travelers to truly experience cities.”

App Store Review

“Great app. walk around at your own pace, stop where you want, move on or speed up when you want. Read the script before you go or during the commentary, speed it up or replay it. Repeat the tour whenever you like.”