The Siena synagogue is a notable, historic

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of wor ...

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. A substantial Jewish community is recorded in Siena beginning in the 14th century. In 1571 the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first began to gather prominence under Cosimo de' Medici, in the Republic of Florence during the first half of the 15th century. The family originated in the Mu ...

restricted Jewish residence to a defined neighborhood, or

ghetto A ghetto, often called ''the'' ghetto, is a part of a city in which members of a minority group live, especially as a result of political, social, legal, environmental or economic pressure. Ghettos are often known for being more impoverished ...

, and it was in this neighborhood that a synagogue was built on the Vicole dell Scotte very close to the

Piazza del Campo Piazza del Campo is the main public space of the historic center of Siena, Tuscany, Italy and is regarded as one of Europe's greatest medieval squares. It is renowned worldwide for its beauty and architectural integrity. The Palazzo Pubblico and ...

. The Jews were emancipated from the requirement of living in a ghetto in 1860. The present synagogue was erected in 1786 on the site of the older synagogue. Because Jews in that era were prohibited from building houses of worship identifiable from the street, the stone facade of the four story building is plain, resembling neighboring residential buildings. The sanctuary is located on the first floor (one flight up from street level). It has an elaborate neoclassical interior, with a lofty

baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including ...

ceiling featuring a large crowned tablet of the Ten Commandments enthroned in clouds of glory. Two tiers of balconies on the building's third and fourth stories have views into the room through elaborate baroque grills. Furniture is arranged in the historic style of the Italian Jewish community, with the bimah in the center of the room. The

Torah Ark A Torah ark (also known as the ''Heikhal'', or the ''Aron Kodesh'') refers to an ornamental chamber in the synagogue that houses the Torah scrolls. History The ark, also known as the ''ark of law'', or in Hebrew the ''Aron Kodesh'' or ''aron ha- ...

is a classical marble cabinet with marble pillars and entablature towering almost the height of the room. The architect was Giuseppe del Rosso of Florence, the master builders were Niccolo Ianda and Pietro Rossi. The synagogue is open to visitors. The historic Jewish cemetery of Siena also survives and is open to visitors.

References

{{coord, 43.3182, N, 11.3331, E, source:wikidata, display=title Buildings and structures in Siena Orthodox synagogues in Italy 18th-century synagogues Synagogues in Italy 18th-century architecture in Italy