A new exhibit at Italy’s state-run National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS) in Ferrara uses archival photographs, documents, and correspondence to “rethink” Italy’s Jewish heritage and show how it is an integral part of the country’s landscape and history.
Called “An Italian Journey: Discovering the Jewish Cultural Heritage,” the exhibit opened October 10 and will run until June 14, 2026.
The contents of the exhibition come from two archives: the collection of Ernő Munkácsi in the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives in Budapest, which features images of Jewish Italy gathered between 1927 and 1940, and the photographic and documentary archive of the Federazione delle Associazioni Culturali Ebraiche (Federation of Jewish Cultural Associations), from the 1920s and 1930s.
“These photographs are far more than visual representations: they are veritable records. They preserve unique information about places, contexts, and objects that in many cases no longer exist or have undergone profound changes. The images bring back to life a past that may not have reached us, but which informs what now surrounds us, inviting us to read the present in the light of a deep and layered history,” the exhibition’s curators, Valeria Rainoldi and Sharon Reichel, said in a statement on the MEIS web site.
Some of the buildings in the photographs such as the Torino or the Livorno synagogues were damaged or destroyed during the World War II bombings. Others, such as the Padova and Ferrara synagogues, were stripped and desecrated. There are also images of the furnishings moved to Israel after long periods of neglect. The exhibition aims to be an opportunity to gain knowledge and to rediscover: the Jewish cultural heritage belongs to all and by bringing it to light not only do we give a minority their voice back, but we also acknowledge the key role it played in a shared Italian identity, while returning its beauty to the public eye.
Images included show the synagogue in Florence — still active and a city landmark, the destroyed synagogue in Livorno, the demolition of the ghetto in Rovigo (in the 1930s), the Torah ark of the Italian-rite synagogue in Ferrara, the women’s gallery of the Scuola Grande or Tedesca in Padua, and scenes from Rome’s ghetto.
The exhibition was organised by MEIS in partnership with the Fondazione per i Beni Culturali Ebraici in Italia and the Hungarian Jewish Museum and Archives, along with the participation of the Italian Ministry of Culture, the umbrella Union of Italian Jewish Communities (UCEI), the Region of Emilia-Romagna and the Municipality of Ferrara.