Fondo ebraico
Item
Country
IT
Name of institution (English)
Teresiana Library
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
ita
Contact information: postal address
Via Roberto Ardigò 13, 46100 Mantua
Contact information: phone number
0039 0376338460
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
biblioteca.comunale@comune.mantova.gov.it
Title (English)
Jewish fonds
Title (official language of the state)
Fondo ebraico
Language of title
ita
Creator / accumulator
Comunità ebraica di Mantova
Date note
14th century/19th century
Language(s)
heb
lat
ita
Extent
1,711 storage units (162 manuscript volumes and 1,549 printed books)
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Jewish collection at the Theresian library includes the largest collection in Italy, and among the richest in the world, of Kabbalistic texts, published in Mantua or elsewhere. In addition to the classics of mystical exegesis of the Middle Ages (such as the commentary of the Pentateuch by Menachem Recanati), there are the works of the Sephardic school (Yosef Giqatilla and Me'ir Gabbai) and above all of Moshe Cordovero and his most illustrious pupil, Eliyyah de Vidas. There are also works by Menachem ‘Azaryah da Fano, bibliophile and passionate collector of rare Kabbalistic manuscripts, patron and author of important mystical works.
The collection also includes manuscripts produced or acquired by Rabbi Moshe Zacuto, born in Amsterdam in 1625 and one of the greatest Italian kabbalists, such as his commentary to the Zohar (MS ebr. 53) or Sefer Sibbolet sel Leqet, a manual written on the basis of various Lurianic writings (MS ebr. 54). Other Zacuto's works are in MS ebr. 34, 43, 44 and 140.
Despite the loss of some of the volumes in the 19th and 20th centuries, which led to the almost total loss of the incunabula (only one remains, the Soncino edition of Moses Maimonides' Mishne Torah), the Mantuan library remains the largest and most valuable community library conserved in Italy. It holds numerous biblical texts (among which we highlight the precious folios of the rabbinical Bibles published in Venice during the sixteenth century by Daniel Bomberg), works of biblical exegesis, grammar texts and dictionaries, Midrash writings, juridical literature (in the form of both various volumes of the Mishna and the Talmud, and of rabbinical responses and legal summaries of the authors of the medieval and modern age), a small section of liturgical literature (largely merged with the Bibliographic Centre of the Union of Jewish Communities in Rome), with the only known example of the liturgy according to the rite of the Greek communities printed in Venice in 1545, philosophical texts and entertainment literature, much appreciated by the cultured Jewish classes during the Renaissance, as well as works printed by Jews living in the Ottoman territories or in central and eastern Europe.
The collection also includes manuscripts produced or acquired by Rabbi Moshe Zacuto, born in Amsterdam in 1625 and one of the greatest Italian kabbalists, such as his commentary to the Zohar (MS ebr. 53) or Sefer Sibbolet sel Leqet, a manual written on the basis of various Lurianic writings (MS ebr. 54). Other Zacuto's works are in MS ebr. 34, 43, 44 and 140.
Despite the loss of some of the volumes in the 19th and 20th centuries, which led to the almost total loss of the incunabula (only one remains, the Soncino edition of Moses Maimonides' Mishne Torah), the Mantuan library remains the largest and most valuable community library conserved in Italy. It holds numerous biblical texts (among which we highlight the precious folios of the rabbinical Bibles published in Venice during the sixteenth century by Daniel Bomberg), works of biblical exegesis, grammar texts and dictionaries, Midrash writings, juridical literature (in the form of both various volumes of the Mishna and the Talmud, and of rabbinical responses and legal summaries of the authors of the medieval and modern age), a small section of liturgical literature (largely merged with the Bibliographic Centre of the Union of Jewish Communities in Rome), with the only known example of the liturgy according to the rite of the Greek communities printed in Venice in 1545, philosophical texts and entertainment literature, much appreciated by the cultured Jewish classes during the Renaissance, as well as works printed by Jews living in the Ottoman territories or in central and eastern Europe.
Archival history
The 16th and the first half of the 17th century was the period in which the numerous educated rabbis and scholars present in Mantua created collections of manuscripts and printed matter. Many of the texts collected and annotated belonged to these private libraries. One of the richest was that formed by Marco Mortara, rabbi in Mantua from 1842 to 1894. These texts were included in the library founded by the Community in May 1767, and whose first nucleus was constituted by purchase of the collection of Immanu'el Meldola, son of the rabbi and director of the public school Yehudah ben Ya'aqov (d. 1752). Soon this library became an organised collection of considerable importance in the Jewish scientific spheres, the first of its kind in the first half of the nineteenth century. The books were initially placed in the room that had been in the larger Oratory. In 1861, the site was hit by a fire that destroyed some volumes, while others were damaged by the water used to extinguish the fire. In 1878, following the demolition of the hall that had been destroyed by the fire, the library was placed in two rooms of the Pie Confraternite or Case di Israelitico di Ricovente and Industria (the current Via Gilberto Govi).
Administrative / Biographical history
The first mention of Jews in Mantua dates from the 12th century, when Abraham ibn Ezra finished his grammatical work “Zahot”(1145) there. Apparently, he was in the city again in 1153. There are no further references to Jews in connection with Mantua until they are mentioned in the new statutes of the city at the end of the 13th century, when a large number seem to have lived there.
Under the Gonzagas, in 1610 Jews in Mantua constituted about 7.5% of the population. Jewish bankers were invited to start transactions in Mantua and its province, where some 50 Jewish settlements of varying sizes flourished, such as Bozzolo, Sabbioneta, Guastalla, Viadana, Revere, Sermide, and Ostiano.
Until the 19th century, the Jewish community of Mantua was the only important one in Lombardy. The Gonzagas treated the Jews relatively well for the times, by honouring their agreements, protecting Jewish merchants from the guilds and from physical violence. The Jews engaged in various trades and crafts: banking, jewellery, clothing, printing, and were also very involved in court life and culture.
Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga decided that a ghetto should be established in the capital in 1602. This plan was started in 1610. The Mantuan community was the last of the large Italian communities to be confined to a ghetto and among those who did not object to the foundation of a ghetto.
By 1761, there were 2,114 Jews living in the city. During the 18th century, the Jewish community of Mantua was one of the largest in Italy. When the duchy passed from the Gonzaga to the Austrian Empire in 1707, it was the largest community in Lombardy and together with Trieste and Gorizia one of the few Italian dominions of the Habsburgs.
Under the Habsburgs the situation of the Jews improved: between the 1770s and 1780s there were between 2,100 and 2,200 individuals within the city (8-10% of the entire city population). As part of the Austrian Empire, Mantua’s Jewish community underwent the legal and social transformations of the Austrian Jewish emancipation, with an unstable equilibrium between individual and communal rights. By 1791, the emperor Leopold had granted Mantuan Jewry legal equality together with the possibility of buying houses in and outside the ghetto.
Although not all restrictions were abolished, the Austrian reform in favour of Jews continued during the French and Napoleonic eras. During French rule, the ghetto was abolished. The Jews of Mantua, like their coreligionists elsewhere in Italy, took an active part in the Italian Risorgimento. In 1866, when Mantua became part of Italy Jews were fully emancipated.
Migrations had halved and impoverished the community of Mantua; the area of the ghetto was progressively abandoned, with only the poorest of the population remaining. Between 1894 and 1904, the ghetto began to be demolished. By 1901, Mantua had lost nearly half of its residents, with only 1,093 Jews affiliated with the community. In 1930, there were 500 Jews living in Mantua. This decreasing trend continued in the years of persecution and deportations from 1938 to 1945 and after World War II. During World War II, over 50 Jews were deported to the death camps or killed.
Under the Gonzagas, in 1610 Jews in Mantua constituted about 7.5% of the population. Jewish bankers were invited to start transactions in Mantua and its province, where some 50 Jewish settlements of varying sizes flourished, such as Bozzolo, Sabbioneta, Guastalla, Viadana, Revere, Sermide, and Ostiano.
Until the 19th century, the Jewish community of Mantua was the only important one in Lombardy. The Gonzagas treated the Jews relatively well for the times, by honouring their agreements, protecting Jewish merchants from the guilds and from physical violence. The Jews engaged in various trades and crafts: banking, jewellery, clothing, printing, and were also very involved in court life and culture.
Duke Vincenzo Gonzaga decided that a ghetto should be established in the capital in 1602. This plan was started in 1610. The Mantuan community was the last of the large Italian communities to be confined to a ghetto and among those who did not object to the foundation of a ghetto.
By 1761, there were 2,114 Jews living in the city. During the 18th century, the Jewish community of Mantua was one of the largest in Italy. When the duchy passed from the Gonzaga to the Austrian Empire in 1707, it was the largest community in Lombardy and together with Trieste and Gorizia one of the few Italian dominions of the Habsburgs.
Under the Habsburgs the situation of the Jews improved: between the 1770s and 1780s there were between 2,100 and 2,200 individuals within the city (8-10% of the entire city population). As part of the Austrian Empire, Mantua’s Jewish community underwent the legal and social transformations of the Austrian Jewish emancipation, with an unstable equilibrium between individual and communal rights. By 1791, the emperor Leopold had granted Mantuan Jewry legal equality together with the possibility of buying houses in and outside the ghetto.
Although not all restrictions were abolished, the Austrian reform in favour of Jews continued during the French and Napoleonic eras. During French rule, the ghetto was abolished. The Jews of Mantua, like their coreligionists elsewhere in Italy, took an active part in the Italian Risorgimento. In 1866, when Mantua became part of Italy Jews were fully emancipated.
Migrations had halved and impoverished the community of Mantua; the area of the ghetto was progressively abandoned, with only the poorest of the population remaining. Between 1894 and 1904, the ghetto began to be demolished. By 1901, Mantua had lost nearly half of its residents, with only 1,093 Jews affiliated with the community. In 1930, there were 500 Jews living in Mantua. This decreasing trend continued in the years of persecution and deportations from 1938 to 1945 and after World War II. During World War II, over 50 Jews were deported to the death camps or killed.
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Author of the description
Carla Vieira, 2021
Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center - Milan (via Yerusha)
Contemporary Jewish Documentation Center - Milan (via Yerusha)
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Biblioteca Teresiana | Collections (official language of the state) |