Sabbioneta is a special city: it was created in the sixteenth century by prince Vespasiano I Gonzaga Colonna according to the architectural principles of the Renaissance. In this “ideal city”, a Jewish ghetto was included. In 1551, Tobias Foa opened an Hebrew printing house in Sabbioneta. Although the community was described as “lively” in the nineteenth century, there were a very few Jews remaining in Sabbioneta at the eve of the Second World War.
Sabbioneta’s synagogue is from 1824 where the ghetto once stood. After years of negligent care taking, it was renovated in 2010. Although nothing indicates its function from the outside, the prayer hall is splendid. Since 2008, the building is protected by the UNESCO.