NAPLES – A new Section has opened in Taranto
Taranto, a coastal city in Apulia in southern Italy, preserves an ancient and contemporary Jewish history waiting to be discovered. It is a history made of millenary traces and more recent initiatives: language courses, cultural events, commemorations, born from grassroots engagement. At the end of July, a new chapter was added to this history with the official establishment of the Jewish Section of Taranto, recognized by the Jewish Community of Naples.
On the evening of July 25, 2025, the Council of the Naples Jewish Community unanimously approved the founding resolution. Eugenia Curiel Demattei, originally from Israel and based in Taranto for more than 40 years, is at the helm of this new entity and has been appointed as the Section’s delegate.
“Years ago, I started here with free Hebrew courses, helping people searching for their identity,” Curiel told Pagine Ebraiche. “Now, there is finally a stable and recognized reference point that can welcome and nurture this small yet vibrant Jewish presence.” She hopes to organize “a first shared community celebration” on Sukkot, the Festival of Tabernacles.
GiulIo Disegni, Vice President of UCEI, recalled that “Jews have long resided in Taranto and the surrounding towns, some of them of Israeli or foreign origin. They frequently participate in religious celebrations and national initiatives, such as the European Day of Jewish Culture. With this Section, we intend to provide continuity and structure, offer services, and organize courses and gatherings. The prospects are encouraging, particularly given the presence of several families.”
Lydia Schapirer, president of the Naples Jewish Community, emphasized: “Our chief rabbi, Cesare Moscati, will begin teaching lessons for children and adults. In addition to the religious dimension, we also wish to foster cultural opportunities, such as concerts, lectures, and conferences. We shall work together with this spirit.” Rabbi Moscati added, “The numbers may be modest, but the birth of these groups is deeply encouraging. It demonstrates that Judaism in the southern region is alive and growing.”
Taranto occupies an important place within the broader history of Italian Judaism. According to some sources, the city hosted one of the earliest Jewish presences in the peninsula in the 1st century CE, when exiles arrived from Jerusalem following the destruction of the Temple.
Between the 4th and 10th centuries, Taranto was home to a flourishing Jewish community, evidenced by 26 funerary inscriptions in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, discovered in the Montedoro area and now preserved at the National Archaeological Museum MArTA, which also maintains a permanent exhibition on the subject.
The city played a prominent role again in 1944 during World War II when the Jewish Brigade – a military unit of the British Army that included over 5,000 Jewish volunteers from Mandatory Palestine during World War II – landed here (see picture above). “Last year, I had almost finished organizing an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary. Five thousand men landed from Alexandria, Egypt. By chance, I found photographs of the event at Yad Vashem and later collaborated with the Navy and local authorities,” Curiel explained. This event also holds personal significance: “Among the Jewish Brigade soldiers who disembarked in Taranto was a dear friend of my father’s, Tinter, who was a British soldier at the time. I had the privilege of meeting him again years later.” The intention is to relaunch the project as soon as possible and stage a public commemoration at the Aragonese Castle.
Translated by Matilde Bortolussi and revised by Alessia Tivan, students at the Advanced School for Interpreters and Translators of the University of Trieste, trainees in the newsroom of the Union of the Italian Jewish Communities – Pagine Ebraiche.