The Jewish Ghetto

The Portico di Ottavia, one entrance into the Jewish Ghetto

The Jewish population in Rome goes back quite far, at least to the 2nd century BCE. But the confines of the Ghetto began in 1555 when Pope Paul IV, an inquisitor pope, issued the papal bull Cum nimis absurdum stripping Roman Jews of all rights depriving them of most occupations, and confining them to the small area known to us now as the Ghetto. A small area hemmed in by the Tiber River on one side which would often flood the area making matters worse. The three entrances to the Ghetto were locked by chains every night. You can look up the papal bull itself, it’s the very essence of intolerance, Paul IV wasted no time in issuing it, just two months into his papacy. The popes that followed continued these atrocities.

I am conflicted because I fear it is considered insensitive to refer to this area as the ghetto, though that is how I see it referred to everywhere I look, either as the Jewish Ghetto or Roman Ghetto which distinguishes it from others across Europe where similar atrocities took place throughout history.

The Portico di Ottavia, as it may have looked in 27 BCE

The Portico di Ottavia today

The Ghetto was abolished in the 1870’s when Italian Unification took control away from the Vatican. In response many Roman Jews born at this time were named Umberto and Vittorio Emmanuelle in  gratitude for this liberation. 

That said the Jewish Ghetto is one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city of Rome to eat. The rich culinary traditions that began here still flourish, despite centuries of injustices. The cuisine that was born here is often called Cucina Ebraica, which translates to “Hebrew Kitchen”. 

The best example of this are the deliriously crispy Carciofi alla Giudia, crisp on the outside and soft at the heart. The ancient Romans are said to have first encountered the artichoke in Judea where they were called kharshûf which bacame carciofo in Italian. I have a separate page on Carciofi alla Giudia here.

Another fine example of Cucina Ebraica cuisine to be found on many menus in the Ghetto are Gozzaroddi or sometimes under the name Polpette col Sedano. They are little meatballs often made with ground chicken and ground veal though often just chicken, stewed lightly with tender cooked celery in a delicate tomato sauce. But the real surprise ingredient is a tiny touch of cinnamon! It’s barely there, just a hint. If you can detect it at all then it's too much. Cinnamon is completely missing in Italian cuisine but in Cucina Ebraica it shows up as an homage, a memory, of the Jewish peoples origins in the middle east.  

Some of my favorite restaurants in the Jewish Ghetto where you can get a masterclass in Cucina Ebraica:

“Stumbling Stones”

The Jewish Ghetto in Rome is rich in culinary tradition and heartbreak. Forced upon the people with cruelty in 1555, the ghetto was a walled area and locked up at night, the walls were eventually torn down in the late 1800's somewhat liberating the area of centuries of injustices but the worst of all happened on the early morning of October 16, 1943 when Nazi forces surrounded the neighborhood. Scars of that day remain in the form of commemorative plaques, a moving museum but perhaps the most poignant are the so-called "stumbling stones" (Pietre d'inciampo) which are cobblestones made of brass with inscriptions of the names placed in front of the residences of the Jews taken to Auschwitz that morning.