Minor Italian States

By minor Italian states is meant less important for Sephardic genealogy, not less important historically, culturally, politically or economically.

This page on minor Italian states covers Jews in:

  • Ferrara
  • Genoa
  • Lucca
  • Mantua
  • Milan
  • Modena
  • Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies
  • Papal States
  • Parma
  • Presidi
  • Savoy
  • Urbino

Jews in Ferrara

  1. Ferrara became a refuge for Sephardic Jews in the early 16th century.
  2. In 1555, Sephardi refugees from Papal persecution in Ancona settled in Ferrara under the rule of Ercole II d’Este.
  3. The Jewish community in Ferrara grew rapidly under the dukes of Este in the 15th century. By the time of Duke Ercole, the city’s population had doubled, with the Jewish community reportedly consisting of 3,000 souls.
  4. Notable residents included Samuel Usque, author of “Consolação ás Tribulações de Israel.”
  5. Prominent Jewish families mentioned as settling in Ferrara include members of the Nahmias, Abulafia, and Franco families.
  6. Isaac Abravanel II, a respected physician and philanthropist, lived in Ferrara during this period.
  7. In 1570, a major earthquake struck Ferrara, but reportedly no Jews perished in the disaster.
  8. By 1597, when the Este rule ended and the Papal States took control, about half of the Jewish population migrated to Modena, Venice, and Mantua.
  9. A census in 1601 showed 1,530 Jews remaining in Ferrara out of a total population of 32,860.
  10. In 1624, a ghetto was established in Ferrara, encompassing Via Sabbioni, Via Gattamarcia, and Via Vignatagliata.
  11. A 1703 report by the papal legate provides some details on the economic status of Jewish families in Ferrara at that time, though the text notes this report may be overestimated.

Jews in Genoa

  1. In the 17th century, Genoa had a Sephardic Jewish population of about 700 people.
  2. Jewish refugees from Spain arrived in Genoa in 1492 but were not allowed to stay. Twenty-one of these families settled in Ferrara.
  3. Portuguese Jewish refugees were also banned from living in Genoa, with only wholesale merchants and physicians holding Papal permits allowed to visit temporarily.
  4. In 1550, some Jews obtained the right of free residence and commerce for several years. These privileges were renewed in 1578, 1582, and 1586.
  5. Jews were banished in 1598, but some remained.
  6. In 1648 and 1658, Jews were recognized in free harbour laws.
  7. In 1659, a ghetto was created, and the right of residence was limited to ten years.
  8. Wealthy Jewish merchants were allowed to live outside the ghetto.
  9. In 1669, there was an attempt to expel the Jews again, but the Senate opposed this.
  10. In 1674, a ten-year extension of residence rights was granted under a new charter and in a different part of the city.
  11. By 1674, many Jews chose to leave Genoa for other cities offering more freedom, such as Livorno.
  12. Some Jews later returned to Genoa on business.

Jews in Lucca

Lucca was a small republic in northern Italy. After 1500, Jews were not allowed to lived there but were able to visit for up to fifteen days. Apparently there are records (as late as 1728) of Jewish visitors.

Archives of the State of Lucca

Jews in Mantua

The ruling Gonzaga family were – with the odd exception – ill-disposed towards the Jews. My impression is that most Jews in Mantua were of Italian origin, rather than coming from Spain and Portugal. There is a report of foreign Jews being expelled, and possible these were Sephardim.

Jews in the Duchy of Milan

The wealthy and strategically important duchy of Milan was the cockpit of
French-Spanish rivalry in Italy. It was under French influence from 1512 but recognised as being in the Spanish zone of control in 1559. Milan was at one end of the “Spanish Road”, the land route connecting Spanish territory in Flanders with Spanish territory in Italy.

The Jewish Encyclopedia says that, under Spanish rule, Jews were expelled from a number of cities in the duchy, notably Alessandria and Cremona. Probably these were Italian rather than Sephardic Jews. There were no Jews in Milan, but some lived in Padua and Lodi.

Archives of the State of Milan

Jews in Modena

  1. The first document relating to Jews in Modena may date back to 1025, but a stable Jewish community was recorded in 1393.
  2. The Jewish population grew after 1569 (expulsion from Bologna) and 1598 (when Modena became the capital of the Duchy of Estense).
  3. A ghetto was established in 1638 and lasted until 1859. In 1638, the Jewish population was 750.
  4. By 1767, the Jewish population reached 1,262, and in 1847, it was 1,538 in the entire province.
  5. Modena was a center of Jewish scholarship, particularly for Kabbalistic studies.
  6. Jews were involved in various economic activities, including silk manufacturing and diamond trading.
  7. From 1638 to 1721, nine synagogues were opened in the ghetto.
  8. In 1796, Modena was occupied by the French, leading to some Jewish emancipation.
  9. Jews participated in the Italian Risorgimento and were granted full equality in 1859.
  10. The community began to decline numerically in the mid-19th century due to migration, mostly to Milan.
  11. In 1931, the Jewish community had 474 members.
  12. During the Holocaust, 70 Jews were deported from the province of Modena, and over 15 Modenese Jews died.
  13. After World War II, 185 Jews remained in the community.

Archivio di Stato di Modena

Jews in the Viceroyalty of Naples and the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies

Jews were expelled from Aragonese/Spanish controlled Sardinia in 1492. After several delays, Jews from Sicily were finally forced to leave in 1493. Most of these apparently went to the Ottoman Empire, with some going to north Africa.

Naples came under Spanish control in 1503, and Jews were expelled in 1541. Sirago speculated that the three Vaaz brothers had arrived in Naples after the Spanish conquest of Portugal in 1580. It may be relevant that the Spanish Governors were from the Galician counts of Lemos, a family will have been known to the nexus of New Christian merchants straddling the Portuguese-Galician border.

The Sanchez and Vaaz (presumably Baz / Baez / Vaez / Vaz) families seem to have been the leading New Christian families here. Other familiar names that appear include Mendes / Mendez and Rivera / Riveira. Miguel Vaaz, later (?) Count of Mola, arrived in the Kingdom circa 1612. Miguel Vaz de Andrade (presumably his Spanish name) is reported to have saved Naples from famine by importing grain from the Balkans. I suspect there were trade links between Mola and Ragusa. Duarte Vaaz was arrested and tried in 1657. Mola may refer to Mola di Bari, an Adriatic fishing port facing Albania.

It is believed that the earlier community left during 1492 and eventually ended up in the Ottoman Empire. There are synagogues in Greece and Turkey names for cities in southern Italy.

Jews of the Papal States

Jews in the Papal States mainly lived Rome and Ancona. Rome needs no introduction. The port city of Ancona was at an end of a branch route of an old Roman road, the Via Flamina, connecting the city of Rome with the Adriatic. Ancona faces the Dalmatian coast of Croatia across the Adriatic sea, a waterway dominated by Venice.

  1. Jews have lived in Rome since the Roman Empire era, with their own traditions distinct from Sephardim and Ashkenazim.
  2. In 1492, Pope Alexander VI (1492-1503) allowed Jewish refugees from Spain to settle in the Papal States.
  3. Popes Leo X (1513-1521) and Clement VII (1523-1534) were relatively lenient towards Jews.
  4. The Ancona Jewish community was joined by refugees from Sicily (1492), Portugal (1497), and Naples (1510).
  5. In 1524, Jews were forced to wear badges, but this was revoked in 1528.
  6. Pope Paul III (1534-1549) encouraged Jewish settlement, including New Christians from Portugal in 1547.
  7. Around 1550, the Jewish community in Ancona numbered about 2,700 people.
  8. In 1555, Pope Paul IV reversed liberal policies, creating a ghetto in Ancona in 1556.
  9. Between April and June 1555, 25 ex-New Christians were burned at the stake in Ancona.
  10. As of 1833, Ancona had a population of about 30,000, of whom 5,000 were Jews.
  11. 1862: Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, Bologna
Kidnapping of Edgardo Mortara, Bologna, 1862

Genealogical resource for Jews in the Papal States

Jews of Parma

  1. Parma had a Jewish community, with records dating back to at least 1348.
  2. In the 15th century, several notable Jewish physicians resided in Parma.
  3. In 1449, Francesco Sforza granted rights and privileges to Jews in Parma.
  4. By the second half of the 15th century, Jews in Parma were numerous and allowed to establish pawnbrokers’ offices.
  5. In 1464, Pope Martin V issued a decree protecting Jews from molestation.
  6. Galeazzo Maria Sforza (1466-1475) issued several orders protecting Jewish rights and worship.
  7. In 1476, Jews were granted the right of jurisdiction over their own people in disputes with Christians.
  8. After 1488, many Jews left Parma for neighboring villages due to worsening conditions.
  9. In 1570, Jews were ordered to wear yellow badges and were shortly after expelled from Parma.
  10. Jewish communities formed in nearby towns like Borgo San Domenico, Busseto, Colorno, and others.
  11. Various restrictions on Jewish residence and commerce were imposed in the 18th century.
  12. During the French occupation (early 19th century), Jews were granted equal rights.
  13. Maria Louisa, sovereign duchess of Parma (1815-1847), maintained these rights and allowed Jews to resettle in Parma.
  14. Final emancipation came in 1859 when Jews became citizens of the Kingdom of Italy.
  15. As of 1901, Parma had a population of 49,370, including 212 Jews.

Archives of the State of Parma

State of Presidi

The State of Presidi was created by King Philip II of Spain in 1557 out of  territories once belonging to the Republic of Siena, after the latter was annexed by Tuscany. Presidi was governed directly by Spain, as part of the Kingdom of Naples. It was merged to the land of Ferdinand IV of Naples with the duchy of Sora in 1796. In 1801, Napoleon disbanded it and annexed it to the newly formed Kingdom of Etruria. Later the Congress of Vienna (1815) gave its former territories to Tuscany, to which they belonged until the Unification of Italy.

The location of Presidi is interesting. Might it have been a transit point for New Christians and Jews?

Jews in the Duchy of Savoy

  1. In 1572, Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy invited Levantine Jews and New Christians to settle in Nice to develop trade and industry.
  2. Families from Coimbra, Portugal, including Pablo Hernando, Ruy Lopez, and “Rodriguez”, arrived in Nice.
  3. Due to pressure from Spain, Savoy rescinded privileges for Jews on November 22, 1573.
  4. In 1581, Charles Emmanuel I ordered the expulsion of all Portuguese Jews from the duchy.
  5. Jews from Italy and Holland reportedly settled in Nice in 1648, followed by refugees from Oran, Algeria in 1669.
  6. In 1732, the Jewish community in Nice was forced to live in a restricted zone.
  7. Savoy may have been more tolerant of Jews than neighboring jurisdictions like Genoa, France, or Spain.
  8. In Alessandria (Piedmont), Jews were granted more liberty to help populate and develop trade in the area.
  9. Jews in Alessandria were required to wear grey hats to distinguish themselves, though this rule was not strictly enforced.
  10. Married Jewish women in Alessandria wore distinctive headdresses, while unmarried women wore only their own hair.
  11. Prior to 1707, Alessandria had been Milanese territory.

Archivio di Stato di Torino (State Archives of Turin)

Duchy of Urbino

The Duchy of Urbino was a small state in north-eastern Italy. It appears that Sephardic Jews refugees from Papal persecution in Ancona may have come to the city  of Pesaro in 1555. Urbino was annexed by the Papal States in the 1626. A ghetto was established in 1633.

Archivio di Stato di Pesaro, Sezione di Urbino.