Italian Synagogues from 1492 to the Present (original) (raw)
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Synagogue Typology in the 19th Century
Synagogues represent the longest surviving sacred building type of the Western Hemisphere with a two and a half thousand year old history. However, architecturally this continuity is more fragmented than the relatively shorter history of churches or mosques as Jewish people migrated frequently and Judaism was almost indifferent to the realm of the visual. Still, some types did develop in places of longer Jewish sojourn—antique and Byzantine synagogue types in Eretz Israel, Iberian synagogues until expulsion in 1492, Ashkenazi types in the Rhineland and Central Europe until medieval eviction and the Eastern-Central European, Polish-Lithuanian-Moravian types until modernity. Modernity, the last period of western (Christian) culture, no longer blatantly contradicted Jewish tradition as was the case in previous epochs and some cultural convergence had taken place. This and Jewish emancipation contributed to the dissolution of the last surviving tradition of Central-Eastern and East European synagogue architecture. Traditional types were replaced in the 19th century by new ones in which link between architectural style, composition of volumes, space conception, structure, decoration and many other facets of architecture were deconstructed. This paper tries to establish a system in this apparently free picking of architectural elements.
The Architectural Origins of the Great Early Modern Urban Synagogue
Leo Baeck InstituteYear Book, 2011
Throughout the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, synagogues across Christian Europe were generally small and, as far as their exteriors were concerned, they adhered to prevailing norms of vernacular architecture, so as to be ‘‘invisible’’ or at least unrecognizable as houses of worship.1 This was not just a defensive measure by Jews in order to avoid unwanted attention but was also a result of the restrictions placed upon the Jewish populace by the government which required that they be inconspicuous. Synagogues are important artifacts of Jewish material culture. Their size renders them immovable and they represent a substantial investment in resources.This either requires a communal investment or a significant sum from a benevolent benefactor. Like any form of art, a statement is made through the production, visibility, and maintenance of synagogue architecture. Therefore a ‘‘great synagogue’’ constitutes a much larger, more pronounced statement. The cultural meaning of a great synagogue can be echoed, and thus reinforced, when aspects of its architectural design are duplicated elsewhere.
Houses of Life. Synagogues and Cemeteries in Italy, edited by Andrea Morpurgo and Amedeo Spagnoletto, is a journey of discovery of the two sacred places par excellence and their evolution over two thousand years of Italian Jewish history. The architecture of synagogues and cemeteries encompasses a multiplicity of implications and meanings: it reveals the complex relationship between a minority and a majority in Italian society; it recounts the progressive construction of a sense of community, the moments of everyday life and the rites of passage that mark the cycle of life; and it stimulates still open debates on the existence or non-existence of a 'Jewish' architecture. The numerous projects, precious documents from state archives and Jewish communities, objects handed down from family to family and prestigious loans weave together stories of cities and humanity with a surprising result. The volume is enriched with numerous contributions from scholars of Jewish history and architectural history who, starting from the earliest archaeological evidence up to contemporary times, demonstrate how synagogues and cemeteries have always been essential spaces for defining Jewish identity.
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Jewish Religious Architecture: From Biblical Israel to Modern Judaism, 2019
Original essay on synagogue architecture with insights into social and intellectual history, visual symbolism, folklore and local customs; includes section on alternative prayer spaces in Hasidism. A Leiden-Boston: Brill publication, edited by Steven Fine.
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Most synagogues in Moldavia are adorned with a wide array of murals. The subjects decorating the ark and its surroundings, as well as those ornamenting the walls and ceilings, reveal two main tendencies: preservation of a tradition common to the Jewish East European visual legacy, and new themes, which found their way into pictorial expressions.
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The Moorish architectural style, originating in medieval Spain, was revived in the mid-nineteenth century. It became strongly linked with synagogues, first in Germany and then throughout the Western world. My research analyzes why the architects and Jewish communities were so attracted to the Moorish Revival style. During this period, European Jewish communities were tasked with constructing synagogues that could showcase their newfound freedoms as well as their history, culture and aspirations. Many argue that this style was chosen to demonstrate the connection between the communities and their ancient Middle Eastern history.
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The remains of a medieval synagogue, in addition to numerous fragments of plaster decoration, have been found as a result of the excavation work done at the Prao de los Judíos archaeological site in the town of Molina de Aragón (Guadalajara, Spain). These remains suggest that the synagogue was built in the second half of the thirteenth century and that it was refashioned later in the fourteenth century following the same artistic model of the synagogues of Córdoba and El Tránsito. Based on comparative analysis, this article studies the Synagogue of Molina de Aragón in relation to other medieval Iberian synagogues.