Rome's Jewish Ghetto: history, synagogue and Roman Jewish food

The neighbourhood at a glance

The heart of the former ghetto fits into four blocks, bounded by Via del Portico d'Ottavia and the Tiber, facing Tiber Island. Most visitors enter along Via del Portico d'Ottavia, a pedestrian street lined with terraces, Judaica shops and kosher food stores. The Great Synagogue, recognisable by its square dome, dominates the district on the river side, on Lungotevere de' Cenci.

The neighbourhood takes half a day: an hour and a half for the museum and synagogue, an hour's walk between the Portico of Octavia, the Theatre of Marcellus and the Turtle Fountain, then a meal or a pastry. It combines easily with Piazza del Campidoglio, 5 minutes away, and the Mouth of Truth, a 10-minute walk on the other side of the Theatre of Marcellus.

More than two thousand years of history

Rome's Jewish community is one of the oldest in Europe: it is documented from the 2nd century BC, long before the diaspora of the Imperial era. For centuries, Jews lived mainly in Trastevere, then gathered on the left bank of the Tiber, around today's neighbourhood.

1555: confinement

On 14 July 1555, with the bull Cum nimis absurdum, Pope Paul IV forced the Jews of Rome to live inside an area closed off by walls and gates, locked at night. The ghetto was set in the lowest and most flood-prone part of the city, beside the Tiber. Several thousand people were crowded into it, forbidden to own property and to practise most trades. Since only one synagogue could be built, the five congregations, each with its own rite, shared a single building: the Cinque Scole, remembered in the name of Piazza delle Cinque Scole.

1870: the end of the ghetto

After the capture of Rome by the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, Jews became full citizens and the ghetto was abolished. At the end of the 19th century, most of the unhealthy alleys were demolished, the Tiber embankments were raised to put an end to the floods, and new buildings went up. The Great Synagogue, inaugurated in 1904, stands on part of the cleared land.

16 October 1943: the raid

On Saturday 16 October 1943, at dawn, German troops sealed off the neighbourhood and arrested 1,259 people, including 207 children. After some of the detainees were released, 1,023 were deported on 18 October to Auschwitz-Birkenau. Only sixteen came back, fifteen men and one woman, Settimia Spizzichino. The square in front of the Portico of Octavia is now called Largo 16 Ottobre 1943, and a plaque recalls the raid. The community was also struck on 9 October 1982 by an attack outside the synagogue that killed a two-year-old child, Stefano Gaj Taché. On 13 April 1986, John Paul II became the first pope to visit a synagogue here.

The stumbling stones

As you walk, look down: in front of many doors, small brass cobblestones bear the name, date of arrest and fate of a deported resident. These are the pietre d'inciampo (Stolpersteine) by the German artist Gunter Demnig. Italy's first were laid in Rome on 28 January 2010, and Via del Portico d'Ottavia has many of them.

The Great Synagogue and the Jewish Museum of Rome

The Great Synagogue (Tempio Maggiore), designed by the architects Vincenzo Costa and Osvaldo Armanni, blends Assyro-Babylonian and Art Nouveau styles under a square-based dome covered in aluminium, unique on Rome's skyline. It also houses the Spanish Synagogue, set up in 1932 and furnished in 1948 with the marble fittings of the old Cinque Scole.

The synagogue cannot be visited on its own: access is with the ticket of the Jewish Museum of Rome, in the same building, entrance on Via Catalana. The ticket includes the museum, with an audio guide downloadable to your phone (including an English version), and entry to the Tempio Maggiore with a guided tour. The museum displays the community's ritual silver, textiles and documents. Allow 1 to 1.5 hours.

• Full price: €12.
• Reduced price (partner agreements): €10.
• Students under 25: €6, with proof of enrolment for the current year.
• Free: children under 10, visitors with a disability above 74% and a companion if needed, ICOM and ICOMOS card holders.

Booking online adds a €1 fee per transaction and tickets are non-refundable. The museum's guided tours of the neighbourhood (former ghetto) must be booked at least 5 days ahead: €100 for 1 to 4 people, €150 for 5 to 15 people. Expect a security check at the entrance: the site is permanently guarded by the police.

Museum and synagogue opening hours

Closed on Saturdays and on Jewish holidays. Opening hours and prices observed in October 2026 on the museum's official website.

A walk through the former ghetto

The Portico of Octavia

At the end of Via del Portico d'Ottavia stand the columns and pediment of a portico rebuilt by Augustus and dedicated to his sister Octavia. It enclosed temples, a library and works of art; what you see today dates mostly from the restoration by Septimius Severus, in the early 3rd century. In the Middle Ages, the portico housed the city's fish market, hence the name of the church of Sant'Angelo in Pescheria, built in its ruins. A walkway lets you cross the archaeological area.

The Theatre of Marcellus

Begun by Julius Caesar and completed by Augustus, the Theatre of Marcellus was inaugurated in 13 or 11 BC and dedicated to the emperor's nephew. It could hold about 15,000 spectators. Turned into a fortress in the Middle Ages, then topped with a Renaissance palace by Baldassarre Peruzzi for the Savelli family, it is still lived in on its upper floors. The archaeological area around it is free to enter, from 9am to 7pm in summer and 9am to 6pm in winter; the monument can only be seen from the outside.

The Turtle Fountain and the alleys

On little Piazza Mattei, the Turtle Fountain shows four bronze youths pushing turtles towards the upper basin; it dates from the late 16th century, and the turtles were added in the 17th century. Around it, alleys such as Via della Reginella keep the scale of the old ghetto. On Via del Portico d'Ottavia, the House of Lorenzo Manilio bears a long Latin inscription from 1468 and ancient fragments reused in its façade.

Roman Jewish cuisine

The food of the ghetto grew out of a poor cuisine of vegetables, cheap fish and frying. The signature dish is the carciofo alla giudia: a whole Roman artichoke, flattened and then fried twice in oil until its leaves turn as crisp as crisps. It is eaten during the season of the carciofo romanesco, from winter to spring. On the neighbourhood's menus, also look for filetti di baccalà (fried salt cod), aliciotti con l'indivia (baked anchovies and endive) and concia di zucchine (fried courgettes marinated in vinegar).

For something sweet, the Boccione bakery, at Via del Portico d'Ottavia 1, is a kosher institution: people queue for its pizza ebraica, a dense cake with candied fruit, almonds and pine nuts, and for the ricotta and sour cherry tart. It is closed on Saturdays and closes early on Fridays. Not every restaurant in the neighbourhood is kosher: if that matters to you, check the certification on display.

Shabbat and holidays: what changes

Shabbat begins at sunset on Friday and ends on Saturday evening. In the neighbourhood, you notice it:

• the Jewish Museum and the synagogue close at 2pm on Fridays from October to March (4pm from April to September) and stay closed on Saturdays;
• Boccione and the kosher shops close on Friday afternoon and Saturday;
• many kosher restaurants do not serve on Friday evening or Saturday lunchtime, and some reopen on Saturday after nightfall.

Jewish holidays also close the museum. In 2026, the last closures of the year are 2 October (Hoshana Rabbah) and 4 October (Simchat Torah). For a complete visit, aim for a day from Sunday to Thursday, and check the museum's calendar before you come.

Practical information

Prices observed in October 2026.

To get there, buses 23, 63 and 280 stop on the Lungotevere, a few metres from the synagogue; buses C3, H, 40, 46, 62, 64, 70, 81, 87, 130, 190, 492 and 916 serve Largo di Torre Argentina, a 5-minute walk away, and tram 8 stops on Via Arenula. The nearest metro station, Circo Massimo (line B), is about 1 km away. Very central, the neighbourhood is also a good base to stay in: see our guide where to stay in Rome.

Further reading

The ghetto fits easily into a weekend in Rome, between the Capitoline and Trastevere. Heading north, you reach the Campo de' Fiori market in 10 minutes, then Piazza Navona. To the south, the Mouth of Truth and the Circus Maximus extend the walk into ancient Rome.