The Jews of Florence

This panorama of the history of the Jews of Florence, though brief, touches on all its essential aspects. It goes from the first appearance of Jews in Florence to the establishment of a true community in the 15th century and from the fruitful, though complex, relationship between the Florentine Renaissance and Jewish culture to the very difficult 200-year-long ghetto experience that included repeated attempts to convert as many Jews as possible to the prevailing religious faith. Progressing from the first temporary emancipation, resulting from Leopold's reforms and even more from the French Revolution, it examines the second and longer lasting affirmation of liberty and equal rights won through the Jews' participation in the unification of Italy (Risorgimento). After examining the contribution that the Jews made as Italian citizens to the development of every area of cultural field, this work illustrates the unforeseeable emanation of the infamous racial laws in 1938. From the tragic period of 1943-44, in which the Jews of Florence, including many of foreign origin, were overwhelmed by the Shoah, it covers the history of the last fifty years, lived in the shadow of that memory.
All these subjects are described in an easy and conversational style, never ignoring the historical documents on the subject and later developments. Behind this study lies the lesson of rigorous scholarship learned from Umberto Cassuto's emblematic essay, Gli ebrei a Firenze nell'età del Rinascimento.