ARCHITECTURE – Italian synagogues illuminate national history: a course with architect Andrea Morpurgo

For centuries synagogues have been a defining mark of Italian cities fabric. They may be monumental as those built during the Emancipation era or occult as those going back to the period of ghettos, when the constant menace of forced conversion invited more discrete forms of worship. In both cases, entering these spaces and studying their architecture is an excellent way to explore a unique perspective on Jewish and Italian history. Italian synagogues’ architecture is the focus of the new course by the Universitary diploma in Jewish Studies “Renzo Gattegna”. Titled Architettura sinagogale (Synagogual Architecture), it is curated by the architect and architecture historian Andrea Morpurgo and will begin on Wedsneday 1/11. Through 15 lessons, the course will delve in the extraordinary meaning of spaces from where, as Morpurgo put it, “history talk to us”. The course, online and in person, follows a chronological path, from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by Emperor Tito’s troupes to the identity of ancient synagogues in Israel and the diaspora, and from medieval synagogues to the ghettos. The Jewish Emancipation, between the late 18th century and the early 20th, marked a turning point all around Europe. “Jews had the opportunity to show themselves to the world and that had a positive impact on synagogues,” explained Morpurgo. They achieved greater verticality and expanded into other styles”. The choice of classifying them as “Tempio” (Temple) goes back to that time, so to mark a discontinuity with the past marked by oppression and discrimination. In those years visually remarkable synagogue came to life, from those of the 19th century in Florence and Vercelli by Marco Vercelli to the Great Synagogue in Rome in the 20th century. It was supposed to become a synagogue also the Mole Antonelliana, the symbol of Turin, which now houses the National Museum of Cinema, but the project turned out to be too expensive and the local Jewish Community went for another option. “Along with Italian synagogues, the course will deal also with European ones, like the Portuguese one in Amsterdam, which I consider among the most beautiful in the world” explained Morpurgo.

For info and sign up: diploma.universitario@ucei.it

Above, the synagogue of Casale Monferrato