ROLLING ROME

Since a Maccabee ambassador sought an alliance with the Roman Republic against Antiochus’s regime in the 2rd century BCE, there has been a continuous Jewish presence in Rome. Rome is home to the oldest Jewish community in the Golah! The Jewish community of Rome has witnessed it all: the rise of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire, the arrival of Titus with thousands of Jewish prisoners of war from Judea, and the Menorah stolen from the great temple he destroyed. They saw the fall of the empire, the establishment of Rome as the heart of the Roman Catholic Church, inquisitions, the creation of the Jewish Ghetto, liberation, and acceptance as citizens of modern Italy, followed by Mussolini’s fascist regime and the Nazi occupation of Rome. Yet, they have maintained a peaceful community without giving up their unique traditions and values.

Jewish symbols are scattered throughout Rome in gardens, buildings, churches, frescoes, monuments, paintings, and sculptures. These serve as reminders of a community that has always been present, continuously mixing and influencing life in Rome in its own unique way.