Sinagoga tardoantica di Bova Marina

The late-antique synagogue at San Pasquale near Bova Marina served a Jewish community between the fourth and sixth centuries. Its mosaic floor preserves a central menorah medallion and other Jewish symbols; the Ministry of Culture describes it as the oldest known synagogue in the West after Ostia Antica.

Why it matters

The remains, discovered in 1983, provide architectural evidence of a Jewish community in late-antique Calabria. The synagogue is part of the Parco Archeologico Archeoderi and is among a small group of Roman and early Byzantine synagogues known in Italy.

What to notice

The complex includes two main groups of rooms and a third area probably associated with the entrance. The central Prayer Hall has a mosaic floor with geometric and vegetal patterns. Its central medallion shows a menorah, lulav, etrog and shofar, surrounded by interlaced designs. A later phase, probably in the fifth century, added an apse, with a simpler mosaic. Excavations also recovered seals bearing menorahs and fragments of glass lamps.

Context and history

The site was initially identified as a Roman villa before its mosaics led to its interpretation as a synagogue. Scholars date the complex to the fourth and fifth centuries; it appears to have been abandoned and destroyed around the sixth century. Two nearby burial grounds belong to this closing phase. Excavations recovered a large group of bronze coins and other objects, now kept in the site museum.