Second most important on the European continent in capacity after that of Budapest (Hungary), the synagogue of Trieste It is an impressive place, welcoming and covered with the characteristics of a city that has always been a fusion point between the West and the East, between the West and the East.
Its cosmopolitan Jewish population of this port city, made up of Sephardim, Romaniotes and Ashkenazim, is an example of the open, plural and diverse character of this beautiful Italian city.
by Ricardo Angoso
There are reports that the first Jewish community in this city was first established in the 13th century, flourishing under the enlightened rule of the Habsburgs in its heyday. Specifically, the first official document that attests to the presence of a small Jewish community in Trieste It dates back to 1236 and consists of a notarial deed that mentions the stipulation of a loan of 500 marks between Bishop Giovanni and the Hebrew Daniel David to fight against the thieves who were stalking the Carso at the time. With the city's loyalty to Austria, Jews from the Germanic lands in possession of the Habsburgs arrived in the city. During the medieval period, Jews residing in the city were mainly engaged in banking and commercial activities.
A few centuries later, in 1648, a ghetto would be created in the city, which coincides with what is now the Piazza Vecchia of Trieste, but in 1738 Jews no longer had the obligation to make themselves identifiable by Jewish insignia. In the following decades, many Jews from the communities of the Republic of Venice, especially from the city of San Daniele del Friuli. In 1746, the Jews of Trieste decreed a Constitution and convened a hearing “of the individuals”, that is, of those heads of family who contributed financially to the expenses of the community.
Years later, on April 19, 1771, Empress Maria Theresa of Habsburg granted sovereign patents (regulations) to the Jews of Trieste who were granted greater freedoms; This process continued with her son Joseph II who, with the Edict of Tolerance of 1782, admitted Jews as members of the Stock Exchange and the new liberal professions. The following year the first Israelite Elementary School was created under the name of Scuole Pie Normali Israelitiche and in 1784 the doors of the ghetto were also opened and, therefore, the Jews of Trieste had the opportunity to live with citizens of other religions. In the XNUMXth century, Jews continued on the path of emancipation, assuming important roles in the fields of studies, industry, commerce, and even insurance (Assicurazioni Generali of Trieste was founded by three Jews). (Information obtained and extracted from:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comunidad_jud%C3%ADa_de_Trieste
THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GREAT SYNAGOGUE OF TRIESTE
Between the 18th and early 20th centuries, the community underwent notable development and led a placid and comfortable life, very different from that of the Jewish communities of Poland, Russia, Ukraine and Eastern Europe, where pogroms, massacres were common. indiscriminate killings of Jews and discriminatory measures by the authorities.
We have found this review that explains how the work and construction of this great synagogue in Trieste began: “In 1903, an international competition was launched to hire the architect to design the new building. The choice turned out to be unfortunate: despite the participation of dozens of competitors, none of the projects were considered up to par.” Later it was decided to entrust the design task to one of the largest and most famous architectural studios of the time, that of Ruggero Berlam and his son Arduino, from Trieste. “On June 21, 1912, after four years of work, the new Synagogue was finally inaugurated” Source cited and consulted:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinagoga_de_Trieste
The temple looks like a monumental building covered in concrete, characterized by oriental stylistic influences. On the outside, the temple is distributed in three elevations with views of via Donizetti, via San Francesco and via Zanetti, respectively, of different sizes, but all with a central rose window where the Star of David is designed. There are two entrances: the main one faces Via Donizetti, and is used only during the most important festivals, while the secondary one, located on Via San Francesco, is used regularly.
The elevation of the temple is divided into a large rectangular central room, which develops into three naves, crowned by a vault with golden mosaic. The room opens onto a large ha-kodesh aron with gilded bronze doors, which is accompanied by two bronze menorots resting on a marble parapet that represent the symbols of the Jewish community of Trieste: the sheaf of hay. (Data and information obtained on this page:
https://web.archive.org/web/20211217014632/http://www.triestebraica.it/it).
This historical period prior to the 5.000s and until the beginning of the 7.000s are the best years of the Jewish community of Trieste, which went from 1938 members at the beginning of the 1918s to more than 1889 in 1970. Regarding that era, we have found a note that tells us about its rich intellectual past and Jewish legacy: “It was also an intellectual capital, where Jews, before and after XNUMX, played important roles as writers (Italo Svevo, Umberto Saba, the editor Roberto Bazlen, Giorgio Voghera) and as painters (Isodoro Grünhut, Gino Parin, Vittorio Bolaffio, Arturo Nathan, Giorgio Settala and Arturo Rietti). The presence of Edoardo Weiss (XNUMX-XNUMX) in the city made it the cradle of Italian psychoanalysis. During the first half of the XNUMXth century, Trieste was also one of the departure ports for Jews. “The emigration to Palestine was deeply felt by the Jews of this city.” (Source cited and consulted:
https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/italy/friuli-venezia-giulia/trieste/).
However, in 1922, with the rise to power of the fascists in Italy, things changed overnight and the situation deteriorated for Italian Jews. Starting in 1938, when some racist laws were proclaimed and relations between fascist Italy and Nazi Germany intensified, the synagogue had to abandon its religious activities due to imposition of fascist authority. Later, during the Second World War and with the German occupation of Trieste, the Temple was reduced to a warehouse for books and works of art stolen by the Nazis. On that occasion, the furniture and silver for the rituals were not manipulated or stolen because they were hidden within the same building, in a sector not demarcated on the plan.
Starting in 1940 there were attacks against the Jewish community. With the Nazi occupation there were raids against the Jews on October 9, 1943 and January 20, 1944 when the objective was the elderly and the sick of the Jewish residence "Pia Casa Asilo Gentilomo", located at 29 Via di Cologna. Towards the afternoon of January 20, 1944, the Nazi soldiers arrived with one or two buses from the "10" line. The elderly and sick Jews, hospitalized there, were brutally put on buses and taken to the Risiera di San Sabba, obtained from a mill for husking rice. From there they were taken to the nearby Trieste-San Sabba train station, bound for Auschwitz, where they ended up in the gas chambers and crematorium ovens. In fact, in the fall of 1943, a year and a half before the end of World War II, the Germans set up a concentration camp, the only one of its kind in Italy, on the Risiera di San Sabba on the southern outskirts of the city where 710 Jews were interned there. Data and information from Wikipedia:
https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comunidad_jud%C3%ADa_de_Trieste).
As a consequence of these actions and the implementation of the “final solution” in German-occupied Italy, once the war ended there were only about 2.300 Jews left in Trieste, which means that almost 70% of the community died. in the death camps, she was unceremoniously murdered by the Nazis or was able to flee before the persecutions, which seems to have been the case for the vast majority based on the data we have. In total, according to calculations by the Italian Jewish community, some 8.000 Italian Jews were murdered by the Nazis, of which just over a thousand came from Trieste.
With information and data from the Holocaust Encyclopedia:
https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/italy/friuli-venezia-giulia/trieste/).
After the end of the world war, and once by virtue of international arbitration the city was awarded to Italy and not to Yugoslavia, as the Belgrade authorities intended, the Jewish community began its activities again and the synagogue reopened. Their doors. However, in recent times it has decreased a lot and has also aged, according to what some of its members told me; It currently has just over 500 members and is declining.
Photos by the author of the note: Trieste Synagogue