Sinagoga, Museo Ebraico e Ghetto ebraico di Pitigliano ("Piccola Gerusalemme")

Pitigliano's synagogue and former ghetto preserve the history of the town's Jewish community, documented here from the fifteenth century. The complex includes the synagogue, a museum of Jewish culture and rooms cut into the tuff for religious and communal life.

Why it matters

The synagogue was built in 1598, at the centre of a Jewish quarter whose history is closely woven into that of Pitigliano. The name Little Jerusalem reflects the community's long presence and its distinctive place in the town's identity.

What to notice

The complex brings together the synagogue and underground rooms carved into the rock, including a ritual bath, a kosher wine cellar, a slaughterhouse, a dyeing workshop and a matzo oven. The museum presents ritual objects, documents and photographs relating to Jewish life in Pitigliano. A historic Jewish cemetery lies at the foot of the town's tuff outcrop.

Context and history

The synagogue suffered a partial collapse in the 1960s and was later restored. Since the 1990s, the association La Piccola Gerusalemme has cared for the complex as a memorial to the Jewish community and its history. The museum and restored rooms preserve material evidence of religious practice and everyday life.