At the middle of the 15th Century, the alternative to the ghetto was the expulsion of the Jews, a possibility which was in fact examined and discarded in the Papal Rome.Why?
Although the Jews were viewed as “different”, thus dangerous to the established religious and secular powers, they participated in most aspects of daily life in the Italian cities of the time.
Despite severe restrictions, Jews and Christians often found places and times for ongoing discussion and cross contamination.
About the Speakers: MARINA CAFFIERO is a professor of Modern History at the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, Department of History Cultures Religions. Her primary research concerns: 1) religious and cultural history and in particular the relations between politics and religion during the process of secularization that occurred in Italy and in Europe in 17th, 18th and 19th centuries; 2) economic and social history, and especially the structures of Rome and of the Roman countryside during the same period; 3) gender history and in particular women’s writings in Early Modern Europe. Prof. Caffiero has published ten monographs, about one hundred essays and articles in Italian and foreign magazines and has edited ten anthologies.
SERENA DI NEPI is a researcher at the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” has worked with the Jewish Museum of Rome, and has published numerous journal articles on Italian Jewish History. She received her doctorate in Modern History from the University of Rome “La Sapienza,” Department of Modern and Contemporary History. Her interests are centered on the social history and the history of mentalities, with specific analysis of religious minorities in Rome in late medieval and modern age.
