You walk along via Mazzini thinking about shop windows, aperitivo, your next destination. And yet, without knowing it, you are crossing one of the most layered places in all of Verona. Look up. Take in the tall, narrow buildings at the corner with Piazza delle Erbe. That is no architectural coincidence: it is the physical imprint of centuries of history compressed into a few square metres.
Where Verona's Jewish Ghetto once stood
The heart of the route is a five-minute walk from Piazza Bra, easily reachable on foot from any point in the historic centre. The ghetto occupied the area between via Mazzini, via Pellicciai, via Quintino Sella and Piazza delle Erbe, right in the middle of the most visited part of the Scaligera city. What makes it remarkable is that most people pass through it without ever realising.
The most immediate sign to look for is the tower-houses on the left side of Piazza delle Erbe as you arrive from via Cappello. These are buildings with double, narrow windows that rise to seven or even eight storeys. The reason is straightforward: the Jewish community, confined within the ghetto's perimeter, could not expand horizontally and so built upward. Those heights are a document written in stone.
Few traces of the original ghetto survive, having escaped the urban renewal works of the 1920s that demolished much of the historic fabric. Among the survivors, those very tower-houses at the corner of Piazza delle Erbe and via Mazzini remain the most eloquent architectural witnesses.
A history older than you might think: from the medieval presence to the ghetto of 1600
Many articles treat the Verona ghetto as a late-period episode. It was not. The presence of a Jewish community in Verona is documented as far back as 978 AD, and some sources suggest it may date to the age of Theodoric, in the 5th century. Centuries of coexistence, expulsions, and returns: a cyclical story familiar to many Italian Jewish communities.
In 1408 the Republic of Venice officially authorised Jews to reside in the city, initially restricting them to the sole trade of moneylending. Two centuries later, at the urging of Bishop Valerio, the ghetto was formally established in 1600. There is, however, a detail that surprises: unlike Venice, where segregation was imposed by force in 1516, in Verona the creation of the ghetto was actually welcomed by the Jewish community itself, which sought protection from the frequent episodes of antisemitic violence occurring in the city.
Between 1638 and 1655, a tightening of conditions in Venice drove numerous Sephardic families toward Verona, bringing new merchants and new traditions. The integration between the original Ashkenazi community and the Sephardic newcomers was not immediate: it took decades, but by 1675 the two communities had founded a shared school. In 1797, with the arrival of Napoleonic troops, the ghetto was opened: the community was by then actively embedded in Veronese economic life, with established shops and a solid presence in the cloth trade.
The synagogue on via Portici: how to visit it (and what to expect)
The central stop on the itinerary is the synagogue at via Portici 3, a small side street off via Mazzini that empties of noise within a few steps of the main road. It is one of the largest synagogues in northern Italy, designed in 1864 by the architect Giacomo Franco when the community had reached its demographic peak of around 1,400 people. The façade is monumental — ochre yellow and white, with a portal set within a large marble arch crowned by the Tablets of the Law — but the narrowness of the street makes it almost impossible to photograph in its entirety: you have to tilt your head nearly vertical.
The synagogue is an active place of worship, not normally open to the public. To visit the interior, the best approach is to contact the Comunità Ebraica di Verona directly (tel. 045 800 7112, email segreteria@comebraicavr.it), which organises guided visits by appointment. The interior retains its 19th-century furnishings intact: the Arón in red marble dating to 1645, the large semicircular stained-glass window in white and blue depicting the menorah, and a plaque commemorating the laying of the first stone in 1625 at the behest of the Orefici family.
Even simply standing before the façade, in silence, is worth the three-minute detour from via Mazzini.
The cemetery in Borgo Venezia and how to close the itinerary
Those who wish to end the route with a lesser-known chapter can add a stop at the Jewish Cemetery of Borgo Venezia (via A. Badile 89), in the eastern part of the city. It lies outside the historic centre — around 20 minutes on foot or a few minutes by bus — but it is an essential part of Verona's Jewish history. It is the fourth cemetery to have succeeded one another over more than six centuries of Jewish presence in the city, and it preserves gravestones dating back to the 18th century.
Opening hours vary seasonally: in summer (April–September) it is open on weekdays 9:00–12:00 and 15:00–18:00, on public holidays 9:00–13:00; in winter (October–May) 9:00–12:00 and 14:00–17:00 on weekdays. It is closed on Friday afternoons and Saturdays in observance of Shabbat. Admission is free.
If you prefer to stay in the historic centre, the natural final stop is a coffee in Piazza delle Erbe, looking up at those tower-houses with different eyes than on the way in. The Jewish history of Verona is not housed in a separate museum: it is in the middle of the city, waiting to be read.
Can the synagogue be seen from the outside?
Yes. The façade on via Portici 3 is freely and freely visible at any time. The interior, however, is an active place of worship: you must contact the Comunità Ebraica to book a guided visit.
How long does this itinerary take?
The route through the historic centre (Piazza delle Erbe → tower-houses → via Pellicciai → synagogue on via Portici) can be completed in around 45–60 minutes at a leisurely pace. Adding the Borgo Venezia cemetery brings the total to around 2 hours.
Are there official guided tours of the Verona ghetto?
The Comunità Ebraica di Verona occasionally organises guided visits, sometimes in collaboration with local cultural institutions. The reference website is comebraicavr.it. The Società Letteraria di Verona also periodically hosts events related to local Jewish history.
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