Università degli ebrei di Padova
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Archive of the Jewish community of Padua
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Via S. Martino e Solferino 9, 35122 Padua
Contact information: phone number
0039 0498751106
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
comunita_segreteria@padovaebraica.it
Reference number
Università degli ebrei
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Jewish community of Padua
Title (official language of the state)
Università degli ebrei di Padova
Language of title
ita
Creator / accumulator
Comunità ebraica di Padova
Date note
last quarter of the 15th century/early 19th century
Language(s)
heb
ita
spa
Extent
188 storage units (72 folders, 96 files, 1 volume, 4 boxes and 14 documents)
Type of material
Textual Material
Scope and content
This fonds comprises documentation produced and collected by the Jewish community od Padua from the last quarter of the 15th century to the early 19th century. Most of the records date back mainly to the 17th and 18th centuries. Part of the documentation of the 16th and early 17th centuries is in Hebrew.
The fonds contains 20 units that Rabbi Bassevi, responsible for the fonds' first inventory, attributed to the Capitolo dell'Università degli ebrei (Council of the Jewish congregation). However, according to Isaia Sonne, only a part of these units is composed of records of the sessions of the Jewish congregation of Padua. This fonds also comprises a collection of accounting documents related to the Jewish community of Padua, including cash and accounts of the Università from the late 17th century to the early 19th century; revenue and expense records from the second quarter of the 17th century to the early 19th century; 18th-century papers relating to taxes and taxpayers; and documentation relating to rents and properties from the second quarter of the 17th century to the late 18th century.
In addition, the fonds includes records regarding some brotherhoods operating within the Università, such as the Gnossè Sedacà Velomede Torà, the Megnirè Sahar or the Vestir Poveri, as well as copies and originals of regulations, a collection of parchments, and loose documents (nos. 135-205) organised by subject.
Over the 16th century — in particular in the second half —, some Sephardic Jewish families moved to Padua, as a result of the privileges given by the Serenissima to Levantine and Ponentine Jews to settle in its territories. The minute books of the Capitolo dell'Università, as well as other series of this collection, report this early Sephardic settlement in the city, as well as the development of the community in the following century, including some important moments of its history, such as the foundation of its own synagogue in 1617.
The fonds contains 20 units that Rabbi Bassevi, responsible for the fonds' first inventory, attributed to the Capitolo dell'Università degli ebrei (Council of the Jewish congregation). However, according to Isaia Sonne, only a part of these units is composed of records of the sessions of the Jewish congregation of Padua. This fonds also comprises a collection of accounting documents related to the Jewish community of Padua, including cash and accounts of the Università from the late 17th century to the early 19th century; revenue and expense records from the second quarter of the 17th century to the early 19th century; 18th-century papers relating to taxes and taxpayers; and documentation relating to rents and properties from the second quarter of the 17th century to the late 18th century.
In addition, the fonds includes records regarding some brotherhoods operating within the Università, such as the Gnossè Sedacà Velomede Torà, the Megnirè Sahar or the Vestir Poveri, as well as copies and originals of regulations, a collection of parchments, and loose documents (nos. 135-205) organised by subject.
Over the 16th century — in particular in the second half —, some Sephardic Jewish families moved to Padua, as a result of the privileges given by the Serenissima to Levantine and Ponentine Jews to settle in its territories. The minute books of the Capitolo dell'Università, as well as other series of this collection, report this early Sephardic settlement in the city, as well as the development of the community in the following century, including some important moments of its history, such as the foundation of its own synagogue in 1617.
Archival history
The first information collected on this fonds dates back to the last quarter of the 19th century, when Bartolome Cecchetti reported it in his work Statistica degli archivi della regione veneta 1820-1880. Following an organising intervention, Rabbi Giuseppe Sabato composed an inventory on the old archive of the Università (Indice dei libri e carte esistenti nell'archivio antico dell'Università israelitica di Padova) and published a transcription and Italian translation of some parts of Hebrew records of the Capitolo dell'Università in 1882. At the time, the consistency of the fonds was estimated at 215 units, a number that appears unchanged in further reports, namely in Edgardo Morpurgo's concise summary published in the Corriere Israelitico in 1912, and Isaia Sonne critical report on the fonds of the Paduan Jewish community in 1935.
Although the collection had not apparently suffered losses during the Second World War, the president of the Jewish community of Padua, in the early 1950s, reported to the Unione delle Comunità israelitiche italiane that some units were missing (namely nos. 103, 100 and 208 of Bassevi's Index).
Between the late 1950s and the 60s, the documentation was subjected to three campaigns of description and microfilming. The microfilmed copies are currently preserved at the Central Archives for History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem and the description of the fonds is available online, according to a virtual ordering criterion that does not correspond to its real structure. During these campaigns, a new record related to the brotherhood Vestir Poveri was identified, bringing the estimated number of units preserved to 216. In the 1970s, the historian Daniel Capri published the two oldest minute books of the Capitolo dell'Università degli ebrei di Padova.
In 2003, Ioly Zorattini conducted a new survey of the fonds. Establishing a comparison with the Bassevi's Index, he found substantial missings in the collection, amounting to 61 units, which included some precious ketubot that had been reported by Isaia Sonne in 1935.
In the spring of 2014, as part of a census project promoted by the Soprintendenza per i beni archivistici del Veneto e del Trentino Alto Adige (Superintendence for archival heritage of Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige), it was ascertained that the losses were smaller than Ioly Zorattini had identified: a total of 18 units were missing, as well as some subunits of the signatures 37 (parchments), 132 and 134 of Bassevi's Index.
Although the collection had not apparently suffered losses during the Second World War, the president of the Jewish community of Padua, in the early 1950s, reported to the Unione delle Comunità israelitiche italiane that some units were missing (namely nos. 103, 100 and 208 of Bassevi's Index).
Between the late 1950s and the 60s, the documentation was subjected to three campaigns of description and microfilming. The microfilmed copies are currently preserved at the Central Archives for History of the Jewish People in Jerusalem and the description of the fonds is available online, according to a virtual ordering criterion that does not correspond to its real structure. During these campaigns, a new record related to the brotherhood Vestir Poveri was identified, bringing the estimated number of units preserved to 216. In the 1970s, the historian Daniel Capri published the two oldest minute books of the Capitolo dell'Università degli ebrei di Padova.
In 2003, Ioly Zorattini conducted a new survey of the fonds. Establishing a comparison with the Bassevi's Index, he found substantial missings in the collection, amounting to 61 units, which included some precious ketubot that had been reported by Isaia Sonne in 1935.
In the spring of 2014, as part of a census project promoted by the Soprintendenza per i beni archivistici del Veneto e del Trentino Alto Adige (Superintendence for archival heritage of Veneto and Trentino Alto Adige), it was ascertained that the losses were smaller than Ioly Zorattini had identified: a total of 18 units were missing, as well as some subunits of the signatures 37 (parchments), 132 and 134 of Bassevi's Index.
Administrative / Biographical history
The origins of the Jewish community of Padua date back to the 14th century when a few Jewish families related to credit activities settled in the Padua area. During the first half of the 15th century, the community grew and was organised. A document reporting the acquisition of land to build a cemetery, dating from 1450, already mentioned the "universitas iudeorum" and a group of "massari". The organisation of the Università degli ebrei reached maturity in the early 16th century. In the following decades, the Jewish community of Padua gradually increased. The Jewish population totalised 800 individuals in 1680. Meanwhile, Ashkenazi and Sephardi elements joined the original Italian Jewish community. The Jewish settlement was transferred from Borgo Zodio to the city centre. In 1604, a Jewish ghetto was established in the area bordered by via della Sirena (eastern section of via S. Martino and Solferino), via Urbana, corte Lenguazza, via dell'Arco and via delle Piazze. The construction of the Sinagoga spagnola (Spanish synagogue) in via della Serena dates back to this time, more precisely 1617. At the time, there were already two synagogues in Padua: Sinagoga grande tedesca in corte Lenguazza, built in 1525 (rebuilt in via delle Piazze in 1682), and the Sinagoga italiana also in via della Sirena, erected in 1548.
The Università was headed by a Capitolo (Council) of 23 members, all heads of families admitted to this body based on their ability to contribute. Three "capi" or "gastaldi" (chiefs) handled the current administration and execution of the Capitolo's decisions. The community had an internal court to judge cases between members and between individuals, and the Università composed of the rabbi and two assistants. A "banco di pegno" (pawnshop), managed by a factor elected by the Capitolo, served the poorest members of the community.
Every two years, four deputies were elected to count the "carati", i.e. the shares assigned to each head of family. Families with incomes below one "carat" were exempted from payment and community life. "Sindici" or "revisori di conti" (auditors) were appointed once a year.
Venice's economic crisis and the decline of the "cordele" (silk fabric) manufacture that had enriched some Jewish families such as the Alpron, the Cantarini or the Trieste since the mid-17th century led to the decline of the Jewish community of Padua during the 18th century. The requirement of residence in the Jewish ghetto ceased with the fall of the Republic in 1797.
After the Napoleonic period, the Comunione israelitica took over the Università degli ebrei. The Comunione was a body that aggregated the Jewish population of Padua and presided over religious instruction and matters relating to worship, charity and the cemetery. It was supported by a tribute paid by its members, and its first regulation dates from 1825.
In 1892, the Spanish synagogue was closed and, as the Italian synagogue was then only used as a secretariat and a conference room for the Comitato Pro Cultura israelitico, founded by Edgardo Morpurgo in the early 20th century, the Sinagoga tedesca became the only Jewish place of worship in Padua. However, it closed in 1935 after being vandalised and seriously damaged by the fascists, and the cult ended up being transferred to the Italian synagogue.
In 1930, following the Falco law, the Comunione israelitica lost its autonomy in managing internal affairs. Under the name of Comunità israelitica, it passed to the control and supervision of the State through the "prefetti". Many members were exiled, and others deported after 1943. A survey in 1938 counted 500 members of the Jewish community of Padua but, in the aftermath of the Liberation, this number dropped drastically to 300.
After the war, the community resumed its functions under the leadership of its president Michelangelo Romanin Jacur (1927-1960), secretary Emanuele Parenzo and rabbi Paolo Nissim, giving priority to the assistance to the Jews interned in Vo 'Euganeo, veterans and families of the deportees, in partnership with Italian and international associations.
In 1989, in the sequence of the agreements between the Italian State and the Unione delle Comunità israelitiche, the Comunità israelitica renewed its statutes and was renamed Comunità ebraica di Padova.
The Università was headed by a Capitolo (Council) of 23 members, all heads of families admitted to this body based on their ability to contribute. Three "capi" or "gastaldi" (chiefs) handled the current administration and execution of the Capitolo's decisions. The community had an internal court to judge cases between members and between individuals, and the Università composed of the rabbi and two assistants. A "banco di pegno" (pawnshop), managed by a factor elected by the Capitolo, served the poorest members of the community.
Every two years, four deputies were elected to count the "carati", i.e. the shares assigned to each head of family. Families with incomes below one "carat" were exempted from payment and community life. "Sindici" or "revisori di conti" (auditors) were appointed once a year.
Venice's economic crisis and the decline of the "cordele" (silk fabric) manufacture that had enriched some Jewish families such as the Alpron, the Cantarini or the Trieste since the mid-17th century led to the decline of the Jewish community of Padua during the 18th century. The requirement of residence in the Jewish ghetto ceased with the fall of the Republic in 1797.
After the Napoleonic period, the Comunione israelitica took over the Università degli ebrei. The Comunione was a body that aggregated the Jewish population of Padua and presided over religious instruction and matters relating to worship, charity and the cemetery. It was supported by a tribute paid by its members, and its first regulation dates from 1825.
In 1892, the Spanish synagogue was closed and, as the Italian synagogue was then only used as a secretariat and a conference room for the Comitato Pro Cultura israelitico, founded by Edgardo Morpurgo in the early 20th century, the Sinagoga tedesca became the only Jewish place of worship in Padua. However, it closed in 1935 after being vandalised and seriously damaged by the fascists, and the cult ended up being transferred to the Italian synagogue.
In 1930, following the Falco law, the Comunione israelitica lost its autonomy in managing internal affairs. Under the name of Comunità israelitica, it passed to the control and supervision of the State through the "prefetti". Many members were exiled, and others deported after 1943. A survey in 1938 counted 500 members of the Jewish community of Padua but, in the aftermath of the Liberation, this number dropped drastically to 300.
After the war, the community resumed its functions under the leadership of its president Michelangelo Romanin Jacur (1927-1960), secretary Emanuele Parenzo and rabbi Paolo Nissim, giving priority to the assistance to the Jews interned in Vo 'Euganeo, veterans and families of the deportees, in partnership with Italian and international associations.
In 1989, in the sequence of the agreements between the Italian State and the Unione delle Comunità israelitiche, the Comunità israelitica renewed its statutes and was renamed Comunità ebraica di Padova.
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
The fonds is not organised according to archival criteria. Records are numbering from 1 to 208, but there are some numbers repeated (72 bis, 73 bis, 74 bis, 85 bis, 127 bis, 128 bis, 129bis).
Access, restrictions
A request to the secretariat of the archive is required to consult the records.
Finding aids
Unpublished finding aids available in the archive:
Bassevi, Giuseppe Sabato. . 1882-. "Compendii delle parti prese dai capitoli del Caal di Padova composto dal sign. Bassevi 1577-1692". Transcription and Italian translation of a selection of Hebrew minutes of the Council of the Università (no. 2 and 4).
Bassevi, Giuseppe Sabato. 1882-."Indice dei libri e carte esistenti nell'archivio antico dell'Università israelitica di Padova". Inventory.
Sonne, Isaia. 1936. “Relazione Sui Libri e Sulle Carte Conservate Nelle Comunità Di Alessandria, Ancona, Casale Monferrato, Asti, Moncalvo, Ferrara, Firenze, Genova, Gorizia, Mantova, Modena, Rodi, Roma, Torino, Trieste, Venezia, Vercelli, Verona.” Florence, pp. 1-10.
Published finding aids:
Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2022
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivio della Comunità ebraica di Padova | Collections (official language of the state) |