Jews of Livorno

The Jews of Livorno were predominantly Portuguese Sephardim and Italkim (Italian Jews). The Italian Jews in Livorno were integrated into the Sephardic community to the point that they can practically be considered as Sephardim.

The image of Sephardic Jews in Livorno above is romanticised, but note the two men in the foreground, one in European dress and the other oriental clothes.


Livorno, known as Leghorn in English, became a significant hub for Sephardic Jews in the 16th and 17th centuries. This growth was largely due to the policies of the Medici family, who ruled the Grand Duchy of Tuscany. This page explores the history, institutions, and legacy of the Sephardic Jewish community in Livorno.

Timeline of the Jews of Livorno (1593-1945)

1593, June 10: Jews receive the right to settle in Livorno, a port city in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, from the ruling Medici family
1600: First Jewish cemetery (Il Campaccio) established near Fortezza Nuova
1603: First synagogue (Tempio Maggiore) built in Livorno
1626: Earliest date of a recorded Jewish marriage in Livorno
1642: Larger synagogue replaces the original Tempio Maggiore
1644: Moar Abetulot foundation established to provide dowries for brides
1650-1657: First Hebrew printing press operates in Livorno
1654: Malbisc Harumim (Vestire Poveri) institution founded to clothe the poor
1683: Beneficenza Israelitica organization established for communal poor relief
1694: New Jewish cemetery (Il Cimitero Nuovo) established
1700: Interior of Tempio Maggiore completely rebuilt
1703: Another Hebrew printing press established
1772: Opera Pia Franco founded for various charitable purposes
1799: French revolutionary armies overrun the Grand Duchy of Tuscany
1801-1807: Livorno becomes part of the Kingdom of Etruria, a French client-state
1807: Livorno annexed to metropolitan France, made capital of Département de Méditerranée
1815: Grand Duchy of Tuscany reconstituted after Napoleon’s defeat
1826: Spedale Israelitico (Jewish hospital) founded by Solomon Abudarham
1840: New Jewish cemetery opened on Viale Ippolito Nievo
1848: Jewish population in Livorno reaches 7,000
1858: Free Port of Livorno abolished
1861: Kingdom of Italy formed, including Tuscany
1863: Spedale Israelitico building opened
1901: Current Jewish cemetery (Lupi Cemetery) established
1926: New facade added to the Tempio Maggiore synagogue
1938: Fascist racial laws enacted in Italy, affecting Jewish community
1943-1945: Holocaust; over 400 Livornese Jews perish
1944: Tempio Maggiore largely destroyed by Allied bombing

Early History of the Sephardic Jews of Livorno

The Medici family actively attracted Jewish settlement to Livorno, making it a major player in East-West Mediterranean trade. Sephardic Jewish merchants operated as intermediaries between Christian and Muslim countries.

The economic landscape for Jews in Livorno changed significantly over time:

  1. Ottoman Empire’s decline impacted trade routes.
  2. New global trade patterns emerged, making Mediterranean trade relatively less important.
  3. Napoleonic Wars disrupted the political landscape.
  4. Italian unification reduced Livorno’s prominence.
  5. The Free Port was abolished in 1858.

Institutions of the Livorno Jewish Community

Synagogues in Livorno

    • Tempio Maggiore (1603, rebuilt 1642 and 1700)
    • New synagogue opened in 1962 after WWII destruction

    Livorno Synagogue, the Tempio Maggiore

    A synagogue, the Tempio Maggiore, was built in Livorno in 1603. It was replaced by a larger building in 1642. In 1700, the building’s interior was demolished and completely rebuilt, including a Ladies’ Gallery on three sides. Further work was done in the 19th century, and a new facade was put on the synagogue in 1926.

    As well as the Tempio Maggiore, there were also a couple of “chapels”.

    The synagogue was largely destroyed by allied bombing in 1944. It was demolished and a new building put in its place in 1962.

    The old synagogue of Livorno.
    Interior of the Livorno synagogue in the 19th century

    Livorno’s New Synagogue

    After World War Two, there was a debate about rebuilding Livorno’s former synagogue. Instead they chose a modern design.

    New synagogue of Livorno, opened in 1962

    Philanthropic Foundations of the Livorno Jews

    • Beneficenza Israelitica, organized in 1683, supported by a special tax, and intended for the relief of the communal poor as well as for the ransoming of prisoners. Its operations were later limited to aiding the indigent. The trustees were at the same time trustees of the communal schools,
    • Spedale Israelitico, founded in 1826 by Solomon Abudarham, and enriched by bequests from his relatives and from the Franchetti family (building opened in 1863).
    • Moar Abetulot (“maritare donzelle”), founded in 1644 by prominent Spanish families for providing brides with dowries, and affording relief to impoverished members. The membership and government of this institution were hereditary. As a family foundation, it preserved the genealogies of all its members.
    • Malbisc Harumim, Vestire Poveri, instituted in 1654 for clothing the poor, especially the teachers and pupils of the Jewish schools.
    • Opera Pia Franco, founded by Joseph Franco in 1772 for the promotion of rabbinical studies, giving dowries to poor brides, and the support of Jews in Terra Santa / Israel.

    Jewish Schools in Livorno

    Pie Scuole Israelitiche di Livorno

    As early as the beginning of the 19th century, there were two Jewish schools, an elementary school with three grades and a higher school with six grades; together they were endowed with a fund of 86,000 florins. The schools subsequently received bequests from the Franchetti family. Around 1900 they included a kindergarten (“asili infantili”), an elementary school for boys and girls, a drawing-school for boys learning a trade, and a trade-school for girls. Instruction was given both in secular and in religious subjects.

    Istituto Rabbinico

    Connected with these schools was a rabbinical seminary (“istituto rabbinico”), which taught advanced Hebrew, rabbinical science, and theology, in addition to the regular college course. These were among the wealthiest Jewish educational institutions of the period, enjoying such bequests as a large legacy by Samuele del Mare (1885) and a foundation for distributing prizes for scientific works.

    Hebrew printing press in Livorno

    A Hebrew printing press operated in Livorno between 1650 and 1657, a Hebrew printing-press was established at Livorno. In 1703 another was established. 

    Hebrew book printed in Livorno in 1782

    Cemeteries of the Jews of Livorno

    There have been four Jewish cemeteries in Livorno:

    Il Campaccio: Livorno’s First Jewish Cemetery

    The Jewish community in Livorno initially buried their dead along the beach in the area now known as Via della Bassata. In 1593, the “Livornina” law officially authorized the creation of a cemetery. By 1600, they acquired land near the Fortezza Nuova (now Via Pompilia) for this purpose. This first cemetery, known as the Campaccio, was unfenced and has since disappeared.

    Il Cimitero Nuovo, 1694-1830s

    In 1694, due to the community’s rapid growth, a New Cemetery was established between today’s Via Garibaldi and Via Galilei. It served the community until the 1830s when it was closed due to its proximity to the expanding city. After the Second World War, the area was expropriated, and a school complex was built on the site. Some tombstones were relocated to the Jewish cemetery of Lupi. Others were used as building materials during the Fascist era.

    View of Il Cimitero Nuovo

    Viale Ippolito Nievo Cemetery: 1840-1900

    The third Jewish cemetery in Livorno was constructed near the Garibaldi Barrier along the city’s toll ring (now Viale Ippolito Nievo). Active from 1840 to 1900, this cemetery still exists today and features funerary monuments, including:

    • Tombs of Elia Benamozegh and Israel Costa
    • Monuments for the Montefiore and Belforte families
    • The Attias family chapel

    While the cemetery has suffered from poor maintenance over the years, restoration efforts began in 2015, focusing on the surrounding wall and entrance loggia.

    Lupi Cemetery: 1901-Present

    Since 1901, Livorno’s Jewish community has used a fourth cemetery located in Santo Stefano ai Lupi. Designed by architect Adriano Padova, this cemetery lies between the municipal cemetery and the railway line connecting Livorno Centrale and Calambrone stations. Notable features include:

    • 17th-century tombs relocated from older, demolished cemeteries
    • The Chayes family mausoleum
    • The tomb of Elio Toaff (1925-2015), former chief rabbi of Rome’s Jewish community

    In 1964, 33 tombs from the late 17th century were transferred here from the abandoned Jewish cemetery in Portoferraio. These unique tombstones feature inscriptions in both Hebrew and Spanish, reflecting the Sephardic origins of Livorno’s Jewish community.

    Lupi Jewish cemetery, Livorno

    The International Jewish Cemetery Project has further information.

    Researching the Genealogy of the Jews of Livorno

    Key Resources:

    • “The Familiarity of Strangers” by Francesca Trivellato
    • “Leghorn Merchant Networks” (British focus)

    Livornese Jewish Diaspora and Modern History

    • Many Livornese Jews moved to other cities, notably London.
    • The Grana community of Tunis was a daughter community of Livorno.
    • 19th Century emigration to the Americas, Western Europe, and Egypt.
    • Jewish population declined from 7,000 in 1848 to 3,000 in 1904.
    • Over 400 Livornese Jews perished in the Holocaust.
    • Today, there are about 700 Jews in Livorno.

    Additional Information

    • Pisa. The city of Pisa was eclipsed by Livorno as a centre of Jewish settlement, but is reported to have had 600 Jewish residents (presumably not all Sephardim) in the early 17th Century. It is possible that some of the early Jewish residents of Livorno had come from Pisa.? Click here.

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    Procession of the Law, a painting by Solomon Alexander Hart, RA