Palermo continues to embrace its multicultural heritage and express it in the present, making it a fascinating time to travel there. Read the full article, “Jews Find A New Home in Sicily, 500 Years After They Were Forced Out,” in yesterday’s New York Times at https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/24/world/europe/italy-jews-sicily-expulsion.html I enjoy immensely programming Jewish historical sites into our…
Tag: sicily jews
The Mikveh of Siracusa
One of the more fascinating things that I saw during my last trip to Sicily was behind the wall where this eclectic lantern is hanging. It’s the Bagno Ebraico, Mikveh, or Jewish Bath of Siracusa that was discovered 20 years ago, when Amalia Daniel di Bagni was renovating a building she purchased to build a…
Shining Light On Palermo’s Multiculturalism
Today for International Holocaust Remembrance Day, we remember that for generations before the Spanish Inquisition (roughly 1478-1834), Sicily was home to thousands of Jews who lived side by side with their fellow citizens who represented a multicultural salad in the middle of the Mediterranean Basin. Palermo honors the history of its diverse citizenship with street…
Sicily’s Jewish Past
By nature of its position in the middle of the Mediterranean, Sicily has always been a multicultural land. Before the Spanish Inquisition (Yes, the Spanish ruled Sicily during this dark period (roughly 1478-1834).), Jews, according to scholar and author Jacqueline Alio, made up almost 7 percent of Sicily’s population. Palermo was home to a large…