The Jewish ghetto of Rome is one of the most antique in the world. It appeared in fact 40 years after the one in Venice, which is the first of its kind.

The word originates from the name of the Venetian contrada “gheto”, where Jews were forced to live.

In 1555, Pope Paul IV revoked all rights given to Roman Jews and ordered the institution of a ghetto, which he had built close to the Marcellus Theatre (Teatro di Marcello).

In addition to the obligation to live in the ghetto, Jews had to wear something that made them recognizable: a cap for men and some other garment for women, both in a glaucous (a greenish-blue tone) colour.

It was only in 1870, when Rome became part of the Kingdom of Italy, that temporal power ceased to belong to the Pope. The ghetto was abolished and Jews were made equal to other Italian citizens.

In the ghetto you can see the Octavian Porch (Portico di Ottavia) and the Marcellus Theatre, monumental complexes which were built at the request of Augustus, the first Roman emperor.

The Jewish ghetto is one of the places where you can taste real Roman and Roman-Judaic cuisine.