Pisa | The Jewish Synagogue

In the historic center, near the Verdi Theater and the deconsecrated church of Sant’Andrea, we find the Synagogue, opened for worship in 1595 and still used today by the Jewish Community.

Synagogue – interior

The first nucleus of the Synagogue corresponded to a single house, to which were added over the centuries a Jewish slaughterhouse and a ritual bath, now disappeared. In 1780, the year of the visit of the Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo, the Temple had become for beauty and size reason of pride for the Jewish Community of Pisa.

Its present appearance is the result of a renovation in 1861 by the Piedmontese architect Marco Treves, the same who worked as Superintendent of the Louvre in Paris.

The interior features the traditional location of the worship hall on the upper floor, which is accessed by a large and elegant staircase. The space of the room is covered by a pavilion vault, in the form of a large inflated sail, decorated with geometric motifs, according to Jewish law that prohibits figurative representations.

Visits
The Synagogue has been the subject of a further major redevelopment, completed in 2015. It is possible to visit it on Sundays, combining the entrance to the Jewish Cemetery.