Day 13, Wednesday, Florence to Pitigliano to Rome

Nothing like a good night's sleep and a long bus ride (i.e. no walking) to make all the aches and pains go away.  We left Florence to go to the Tuscan mountain-top village of Pitigliano, which once housed a vibrant Jewish community.  In 1556 the first Jewish cemetery was created there and in 1598 the Synagogue of Pitigliano was built.  In 1608 Pitigliano was added to the Granduchy of Tuscany and the Medici family imposed a Jewish Ghetto here in 1622.  By the 19th century about 25% of the population was Jewish and the community came to be known as "Little Jerusalem." In the 1861 Unification of Italy, the Ghetto was abolished and many of Pitigliano's Jews left for larger cities.  

In 1938 there were only 70 Jews left in Pitigliano and the Nazi racial laws (prohibiting Jews from school and work) caused this number to decrease further.   When the Nazis came to round up the Jews, the Pitigliano Catholic families protected and ultimately saved the 30 remaining Jews by hiding them in the surrounding countryside. 

In the 1960's the synagogue, which had been built into the side of a cliff, collapsed and now only a few Jews remain in the town.  A museum which includes a Mikvah (ritual bath), a Kosher wine cellar, Kosher butcher, matzah bakery dye works, and the rebuilt synagogue were part of our tour.  

The high point of this day was a talk/discussion with Elena Servi, one of the few remaining Jews in Pitigliano.  A woman in her 80's, she is the main caretaker of the remnants of Judaism in Pitigliano.  She had lived in Israel for a number of years before returning to her home town. Haim translated her words into English, but I was able to follow some of what she said in Hebrew. 

She was a young girl when the Nazi's came.  She, her mother, and her two sisters hid for nine months in a cave in the countryside. Their Catholic neighbors, at great risk to themselves, brought then clothing, food, and other necessities.  Without their aide, Elena's family could not have survived the winter.  This is a story we hear repeatedly in the cities we visit in Italy.  Italian Jews were saved by, hidden by, and helped by their Catholic neighbors during the Nazi occupation.