Venice - Italy - page 326

synagogue. You'll see today the profound contrasts between the German syna-
gogue (the oldest of the group) and the Turkish or Spanish synagogue.
During World War II, Jewish residents again suffered abhorrent treatment;
having been declared enemies of the state, 104 people were rounded up and incar-
cerated on the night of December 6, 1943, and subsequently nearly 250 Jews were
deported from Venice to concentration camps, where most of them perished.
Sadly, only eight of the deportees have returned to their home city.
In contrast with its bleak history, the open square at the heart of this Jewish
quarter, Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, is now a very pleasant place to watch all man-
ner of daily life—including tour groups getting a very thorough look at some of
the leaning nine-story apartment blocks; look especially for the two Holocaust
monuments by Arbit Blatas.
There are five synagogues in the Ghetto. Two of these—the Scuola Grande
Tedesca and the Scuola Canton—were built in the early 16th century on the top
floors of adjacent buildings, which have now become the Museo Ebraico di
Venezia ( Jewish Museum; Campo del Ghetto Nuovo, Cannaregio 2902/b; % 041-
715359; www.museoebraico.it; € 3; Oct-May Sun-Fri 10am-5:45pm; June-Sept
Sun-Fri 10am-6:45pm). The exhibits within are of mostly 17th- and 18th-century
Jewish artifacts. Of special interest are the tempera-painted marriage contracts, or
ketubah. Look also for the lavishly decorated 17th-century Torah ark—next to it
is a ketubah dating back to 1775. To learn more about the Ghetto and to actually
see its synagogues, join the hourly tours departing from the museum from
10:30am until 5:30pm (June-Sept) or until 3:30pm (Oct-May); a combined

€

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ticket will get you into the museum and onto one of the Ghetto tours.
Next to the museum is Ikona Venezia, a well-restored exhibition space and
Venice's only permanent photographic gallery. It's owned and run by the charm-
ing Ziva Kraus, a resident in Venice for more than 30 years; she's usually on-site,
and is a wealth of information on what's hot and happening in the world of art.
With its entrance hidden down a side-alley off Cannaregio's main drag, you
need to look for signs pointing toward Ca' d'Oro (House of Gold)

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(Calle Ca'
d'Oro, Cannaregio 3933), so called because it was once largely covered in gilt,
which played up the ornamentation of its fanciful facade. Ca' d'Oro is considered
the single best example of Venetian Gothic architecture (which you need to wit-
ness from the Grand Canal). It was commissioned by Marino Contarini, of one

Visiting Venice's Ancient Jewish Cemetery
If your interest in Jewish culture extends beyond museums and synagogues, you
may want to visit the ancient Jewish cemetery at San Nicolò, on the Lido. The
grounds were granted to Venice's Jewish community in 1386, but the cemetery was
closed down in the late 18th century, and remained shut for some 300 years. Recent
restoration has meant that the cemetery has now reopened and can be visited
with a guided tour; these are limited to a few days per week, and only on Sundays
during the winter, although you can make special arrangements by reserving a
guide in advance; call % 041/71-5359 for information or to make arrangements.