Italy

Southern Italy

Via Giudecca, Trapani © Andrew and Suzanne – Flickr

The communities of the southern peninsula were the wealthiest and best integrated in all of Italy during the Middle Ages. This was particularly true of Sicily, where more than 37000 Jews lived, including a large number in Palermo. This is as many as are living in all of Italy today. The world of the Jews living under the Spanish crown was swept away within a few years after the forced expulsion in 1492. No trace remains, except perhaps a few place-names, like Via Giudecca in the San Pietro quarter of Trapani in Sicily, and a few rare monuments.