The Jewish District in Pitigliano

Pitigliano is also known as The Little Jerusalem, a name given by the Jewish Community of Livorno in the mid-1800s, when the Jewish Community of the city had about 400 members.

In the mid-sixteenth century many Jews were forced to leave the Papal States and take refuge in the County of Pitigliano as a result of papal laws, giving rise to the Jewish Community. In 1598 the Synagogue was built, and in 1608 the County of Pitigliano was united with the Grand Duchy of Tuscany ruled by the Medici, who ordered the construction of the ghetto in 1622. For about two centuries the Community was forced to live in a confined space, making the most of the underground environment, which, thanks to the friable nature of tuff, was easily worked.

In the countryside around Pitigliano, aided by local farmers, all the Jews who had remained in the village after Mussolini's racial laws found refuge during World War II, thus escaping deportation. Among them was Elena Servi, the last Jewish woman left in the village.

In 1996, Elena and her son, Enrico, established the “La Piccola Gerusalemme” (Little Jerusalem) Association, which still runs the Jewish Museum today. 

A tour of about an hour and a quarter allows visitors to see the 16th-century Synagogue and the underground rooms where the Community worked and performed its ritual functions: the Dry Cleaners, the Unleavened Bread Oven, the Kosher Slaughterhouse, the Miqvè, the Kosher Cellar and a display of Jewish objects.

Information:

• opening hours
  April 1 - October 31: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. and 2:30 - 6 p.m.
  November 1 - March 31: 10 - 12:30 a.m. and 2:30 - 4:30 p.m.
  closed on Saturdays
• tour
  April - October: Tuesday and Friday at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. 
• on the last Sunday of the month, in addition to the Jewish quarter, it is possible to visit, on an extraordinary basis, the historic Israelite cemetery
• guided tours by reservation for groups