Archivio Medioevale e Moderno
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Jewish Community of Rome Historical Archive
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Largo Stefano Gaj Taché (Tempio), 00186 Rome
Contact information: phone number
0039 0668400663
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
archivio.storico@romaebraica.it
Reference number
ASCER, Archivio medievale e moderno
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
Medieval and Early Modern Archive
Title (official language of the state)
Archivio Medioevale e Moderno
Language of title
ita
Creator / accumulator
Archivio Storico della Comunità Ebraica di Roma
Date note
16th century/19th century
Language(s)
heb
ita
spa
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Archivio Storico della Comunità Ebraica di Roma [ASCER] is composed of 24 fonds. In 1963, Daniele Carpi carried out the latest organisation of the fonds, dividing them into two main sections: the Archivio Medioevale e Moderno (Medieval and Early Modern Archive, 16th-19th centuries), and the Archivio Contemporaneo (Late Mordern Archive, 19th-20th centuries). A Photographic Archive and a Music Archive, which are currently being rearranged, complete the current structure of the archive. The Archivio Medioevale e Moderno section contains information regarding the Jewish community of Rome in the Medieval and Early Modern periods, including:
- economic, financial and fiscal records;
- information on the daily life of the Roman Jewish community;
- activities of the “Cinque Scole” (synagogues or rites), including the Sephardic one;
- activities of the Jewish confraternities;
- relations between the Jewish Community and the Papal State;
- false accusations of ritual murder;
- clandestine and forced baptisms and relations with the Casa dei catecumeni (House of Catechumens);
- restrictions on the possession of Hebrew books;
- harassment to which the Jewish population was subjected during the Carnival period and during Catholic celebrations;
- “Juz Gazagà” (perpetual tenant);
- interest-based loan and management of pawn shops.
The Archivio medievale e moderno also includes a manuscript Hebrew Bible produced in Lisbon in 1496 (ms. 18).
- economic, financial and fiscal records;
- information on the daily life of the Roman Jewish community;
- activities of the “Cinque Scole” (synagogues or rites), including the Sephardic one;
- activities of the Jewish confraternities;
- relations between the Jewish Community and the Papal State;
- false accusations of ritual murder;
- clandestine and forced baptisms and relations with the Casa dei catecumeni (House of Catechumens);
- restrictions on the possession of Hebrew books;
- harassment to which the Jewish population was subjected during the Carnival period and during Catholic celebrations;
- “Juz Gazagà” (perpetual tenant);
- interest-based loan and management of pawn shops.
The Archivio medievale e moderno also includes a manuscript Hebrew Bible produced in Lisbon in 1496 (ms. 18).
Archival history
The Archive underwent frequent headquarters relocations in the second half of the 19th century, due to the closure and readjustment of the ghetto. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Archive was moved to its current location. During its long history, it has undergone several rearrangements. In 1929, Attilio Milano and Roberto Bachi completed the reorganisation of the Archive initiated by Enzo Sereni in 1926. This inventory divides the documents into four sections: 1) Material related to the activities of the Community; 2) Documentation concerning the Confraternities and the Schools; 3) Documents related to relations between the community and the Papal State; 4) Miscellany. In 1963, Daniele Carpi compiled a repertoire of folders and registers kept at the ASCER, dividing them into the two current sections: Archivio Medioevale e Moderno and Archivio Contemporaneo. Since 2001, the reorganisation of the ASCER documentation has been undertaken by S.H. Antonucci, C. Procaccia and G. Spizzichino, and coordinated by the heads of the Soprintendenza dei Beni archivistici per il Lazio (Superintendence of Archival Heritage for Lazio).
Administrative / Biographical history
The Jewish community of Rome has ancient origins. Especially after the conquest of Judea and Jerusalem by Pompey (64 B.C.), the Jewish prisoners were sent to Rome as slaves and were then redeemed by some co-religionists already living in the city as merchants. This first nucleus was further expanded with the triumph of Titus and the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in 70 A.D. At the time of the Roman Empire of Augustus, the Roman Jewish community was already numbering 40,000 individuals, who could enjoy some benefits granted to them by the imperial power. Until the Edict of Constantine (313 AD), the Jews were rarely persecuted and always represented a fairly integrated nucleus in the city. The subsequent restrictions they underwent were rather directed to favour the rise of Christianity than to persecute Jews. Instead, it was with the full affirmation of the Roman papacy, starting from the pontificate of Gregory I (590-604), that clear boundaries began to be drawn between Jews and Christians. Nonetheless, the Roman Jewish community continued to enjoy a broad autonomy, and a certain integration. In fact, during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, papal interventions were limited to prescribing bounded restrictions for the Jews in the city, such as the imposition of the yellow sign of recognition already established at the time of Innocent III in 1215. In 1555, Paul IV established the ghetto of Rome, a measure that marked the beginning of a growing harshness towards Jews, which was strengthened during the period of the Counter-Reformation. Throughout the Old Regime, the Jews remained bound within the ghetto, obliged to respect the regulations, and harassed by constant taxes and limitations. Within the Risorgimento period (1815-1870), the Jews experienced periods of freedom and persecution until the advent of the Kingdom of Italy in 1870, which decreed the fall of all restrictions.
Access points: locations
Access points: corporate bodies
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Andrea Cicerchia, 2022
Bibliography
Published primary sources
Linked resources
Filter by property
| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivio Storico della Comunità Ebraica di Roma | Collections (official language of the state) |