Shining a Light on the Hidden History of Jews in Siena

Fri, 12/16/2022 - 14:07

Interior of the synagogue of Siena, Italy

Inside the synagogue of Siena / Photo: Dietmar Rauscher via Shutterstock

The first time I visited the Jewish ghetto in Siena was by accident. I’d just stumbled my way out of the Palazzo Pubblico — the civic seat of the Sienese Republic, today a museum — and my focus was singularly on tracking down a plate of pici for lunch. But my tunnel vision was broken by marble plaques I spotted along the street, memorializing, in Hebrew and Italian, two tragic events in the history of Siena’s Jewish population.

Peering closer, it became clear that behind

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