(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The demolishing of the ghetto in Rome, the oldest Jewish ghetto in Europe, has been finally determined upon, according to a despatch from Rome to the “Wiener Morgenzeitung.” The demolishing of the ghetto is a part of the program of the Rome municipal authorities to beautify the city. This decision affects several hundred poor Jewish families who will be left without homes.
Senor Luigi Luzzatti and Senor Maggiores have intervened with the authorities to postpone the demolition, but have met with no success.
The Jewish ghetto of Rome, which was established by Pope Paul IV was entered on July 26, 1556. Situated between the Via del Pianto and the Ponte del Quatro Capi, on the right side of the Tiber, it consisted of a few streets which were overcrowded and were annually flooded by the Tiber. In 1814, during the brief Napoleonic rule in Italy, Pius VII permitted some Jews to live outside the ghetto, but when Cardinal Rivorali came into power, the old decrees were revived. In 1847 Pius IX decided to do away with the ghetto but the reactionary movement of 1848 again reestablished the restrictions. In 1870 the Italian army marched into the city and soon afterward Victor Immanuel decided to abolish the ghetto.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
