Although in color, one of the small streets criss-crossing Ferrara's Jewish Ghetto appears just as it might have approximately seventy years ago.
Just as they are in Vittorio De Sica's classic film The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, bicycles are a fixture in all of Ferrara's main thoroughfares.
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Before you read this piece, you should probably watch a certain 1960s Vittorio de Sica film, if you have not already. (Well, if you haven't, read this piece and then plan to do so. That is just as good!)
The first and only other time I visited Ferrara, almost seven years ago, I visited the "Catholic" Ferrara that you will read about in all the guidebooks: the Duomo, the Diamond and Massari Palaces and their collections of portraits of the voluptuous leading ladies of the Gonzaga and d'Este dynasties; and the pasticcerie where I tried the native dessert, Panpapato - a sweet that one might liken to a chocolatey fruitcake. (By the way, the name panpapato means papal bread in Italian.)
A few years after that first visit, I saw the glowing, sun-bathed Visconti depiction of the well-to-do Finzi-Continis of the early 1940s: the wealthy, beautiful, partially-blonde and athletic Jewish family who are modeled (with much romanticization, of course) on an actual Ferrarese family called Finzi-Magrini. (I think we can all agree with the author of the original novel, Giorgio Bassani, that the former surname had a slightly prettier ring to it.) While I was attending a series of lectures in this small city at the northeastern tip of Emilia-Romagna, I realized I could finally dig into another layer of Ferrara's past, and observe what was left of a once very rich hub of Spanish, German and Italian Jews.
To look at the portraits of the Lombard d'Este family, one might imagine they were a smug, avaricious lot - however that might be a bit judgmental as they presided over the Duchy of Ferrara for over 300 years, and there were probably many types of personalities in such a long-existent family. But, back to the point: as early as 1100, Ferrara hosted a well-integrated Jewish community, but it was in 1492, when Spain's first Golden Era (that of Al-Andalus and Sefarad, before the expulsion of the Moors and Jews), ended, that Ferrara's began. The d'Este family welcomed Spain's fleeing Sephardic Jews with open arms - particularly for the economic benefits such an act would bring... but in any case it was a nice, tolerant gesture.
So my journey began with a surprise. After my first night in Ferrara, I went down to the hotel's breakfast the following morning; I suppose The Garden of the Finzi-Continis is a sort of point of pride for the city, as the film was playing on a big screen in the dining room (both that morning and the next). Yet, ironically, there was nothing on the hotel's sound system except for a medley of Brazilian and lounge music playing overhead, which was surreal and not at all appropriate for the moment, as the film was nearing its sad end. Still, I was newly-intrigued and made an eager mental note to sally over to the Museo Ebraico after Shabat was over.
Ferrara's Jewish Museum is a good place to start when it comes to the community's history (unfortunately, photos are not allowed): visitors receive an overview of the three synagogues inside the complex (German, Italian, and Fano, named for Ferrara's most important rabbi, Alessandro da Fano.) The museum also houses arks from the Spanish synagogue, which was located nearby but destroyed during the WWII German invasion. Other than photos, ritualistic items, and artworks, what stands out here is a nondescript plaque in remembrance of the original professor and patriarch who inspired his later film counterpart: Silvio Finzi-Magrini who, like many, was spirited away to Germany and never heard from again.
Silvio Magrini's family still inhabits the fated home with the grand and beautiful garden. The property sits close to the edge of Ferrara's center, but two caveats need be issued in case you are interested in seeing the villa up close: the Magrini family is unquestionably keen on its privacy (though one could certainly find its location if interested enough); and the garden scenes of the film take place in a pair of parks in the city, as well as on location in Monza, Italy.
De Sica's depiction is of a family heading up a sort of twentieth-century Golden Age that is now long since gone. That is what was in Ferrara, but not what is. The beauty of exploring Ferrara's Jewish past is that it speaks to one so loudly exactly because it seems to have almost faded altogether from the flourish of activity and life that it once was. It is a whisper now, meaningful and knowing, from Via Vittoria, so starkly quiet and empty it resembles the final Ghetto shots from The Finzi-Continis, to the Jewish cemetery, where lies Giorgio Bassani, as well as members of the families Veneziani, DeBenedetti, Contini and Finzi Rimini.
There are only seventy Jews total living in Ferrara today, and unlike the Jewish Ghetto of Rome - where food has intricately mingled and influenced the Roman kitchen for centuries if not millennia, and where one will find a host of restaurants serving kosher and Jewish-Italian cuisine - one is surprised and somewhat disappointed to find that only two restaurants in Ferrara have even a minimal association with kosher cooking. (In part this is probably because the kosher diet of Northern Italy is based more on the elaborate
Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions.)
One is Balebuste, which prepares kosher meals for gatherings on Jewish holidays and other special occasions; the other is Osteria del Ghetto, which had one strictly kosher primo and a traditional Ferrarese Jewish dessert. The menu is seasonal, however, and I dined at the Osteria at the very start of autumn.
As a side note, I also spoke with the owner of Osteria del Ghetto, Laura, who told me her favorite dishes, if you're looking for local specialty recipes, are the cappellacci di zucca, a pasta dish with pumpkin filling, and the salama da sugo. If you want to know more about salama da sugo, one could write a complete post on it alone. Here I will leave it up to the Academia Barilla to explain: http://www.academiabarilla.com/italian-recipes/meats-charcuterie/salama-sugo-ferrarese.aspx. Salama da sugo is decidedly un-kosher; however, next time I return to Ferrara, it wil definitely be on my to-eat list.
Everywhere you go in Ferrara, you are surrounded by book cafes, antique markets, chocolatier, and bicycles both moving and still. One second, the street you're traversing will be near-empty, and the next, Moms and Dads in tweed appear, perched on their ivory-colored bikes, tailed by children working to keep a similar rhythm. As if a parade had just begun, they surround you en masse, drag you along for a few beats and then leave you, elegantly, in their dust.
Still, images from The Finzi Continis continued to play in my mind: ringing bells issuing from the swarms of bicyclists that passed here and there referenced - rightly so - opening scenes of the film, when the cool and sunny teenagers of Ferrara rode leisurely in their tennis whites to the gates of the Finzi Contini Villa. And as I wandered anew to parts of the city where there was nary a soul, an empty street and finally for a visit to the Jewish cemetery, the film's conclusion, along with its mesmerizing soundtrack of "Kel Malei Rachamim" haunted my thoughts.
While this may well not be anything akin to a third Golden Age, it comes close to trying. Celebration of Italian Hebrew culture does thrive in this region and, fortunately, continues to expand. Not only i Ferrara a hub for numerous literary and cultural festivals, it is also the site for Italy's 3rd annual Jewish book festival (which this year will take place from 28 April to 1 May). Coincidentally, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Giorgio Bassani's novel, and the festival's programme will include an exhibit commemorating its publication, entitled Che Bel Romanzo (trans. "That beautiful tale"). Sounds like a must-see, and fortunately, it will run through July.
A new museum, the National Museum of Italian Judaism and of the Shoah, is also in the works for Ferrara; it will be housed in a former prison, itself a historical location of fascist violence.
Who would we have found there among the anti-fascist and Jewish prisoners in 1943? None other than Mr. Bassani himself. Who survived and lived to recount his Bel Romanzo of Ferrara.
Misters Bassani and De Sica, thank you.
Silvio Magrini's family still inhabits the fated home with the grand and beautiful garden. The property sits close to the edge of Ferrara's center, but two caveats need be issued in case you are interested in seeing the villa up close: the Magrini family is unquestionably keen on its privacy (though one could certainly find its location if interested enough); and the garden scenes of the film take place in a pair of parks in the city, as well as on location in Monza, Italy.
The gates to Ferrara's Jewish cemetery, site of the grave of "Finzi-Contini" author Giorgio Bassani.
There are only seventy Jews total living in Ferrara today, and unlike the Jewish Ghetto of Rome - where food has intricately mingled and influenced the Roman kitchen for centuries if not millennia, and where one will find a host of restaurants serving kosher and Jewish-Italian cuisine - one is surprised and somewhat disappointed to find that only two restaurants in Ferrara have even a minimal association with kosher cooking. (In part this is probably because the kosher diet of Northern Italy is based more on the elaborate
Ashkenazi and Sephardic traditions.)
Everyday Ferrara. The requisite bicycle herd outside Osteria del Ghetto.
One is Balebuste, which prepares kosher meals for gatherings on Jewish holidays and other special occasions; the other is Osteria del Ghetto, which had one strictly kosher primo and a traditional Ferrarese Jewish dessert. The menu is seasonal, however, and I dined at the Osteria at the very start of autumn.
As a side note, I also spoke with the owner of Osteria del Ghetto, Laura, who told me her favorite dishes, if you're looking for local specialty recipes, are the cappellacci di zucca, a pasta dish with pumpkin filling, and the salama da sugo. If you want to know more about salama da sugo, one could write a complete post on it alone. Here I will leave it up to the Academia Barilla to explain: http://www.academiabarilla.com/italian-recipes/meats-charcuterie/salama-sugo-ferrarese.aspx. Salama da sugo is decidedly un-kosher; however, next time I return to Ferrara, it wil definitely be on my to-eat list.
Everyday Ferrara. Antiquing, the weekend's main attraction, in the shadows of the Duomo.
Everywhere you go in Ferrara, you are surrounded by book cafes, antique markets, chocolatier, and bicycles both moving and still. One second, the street you're traversing will be near-empty, and the next, Moms and Dads in tweed appear, perched on their ivory-colored bikes, tailed by children working to keep a similar rhythm. As if a parade had just begun, they surround you en masse, drag you along for a few beats and then leave you, elegantly, in their dust.
Everyday Ferrara. Via Mazzini, perhaps the busiest section of the Ghetto, is also the location for Ferrara's Jewish Museum and temples.
Still, images from The Finzi Continis continued to play in my mind: ringing bells issuing from the swarms of bicyclists that passed here and there referenced - rightly so - opening scenes of the film, when the cool and sunny teenagers of Ferrara rode leisurely in their tennis whites to the gates of the Finzi Contini Villa. And as I wandered anew to parts of the city where there was nary a soul, an empty street and finally for a visit to the Jewish cemetery, the film's conclusion, along with its mesmerizing soundtrack of "Kel Malei Rachamim" haunted my thoughts.
While this may well not be anything akin to a third Golden Age, it comes close to trying. Celebration of Italian Hebrew culture does thrive in this region and, fortunately, continues to expand. Not only i Ferrara a hub for numerous literary and cultural festivals, it is also the site for Italy's 3rd annual Jewish book festival (which this year will take place from 28 April to 1 May). Coincidentally, this year marks the 50th anniversary of Giorgio Bassani's novel, and the festival's programme will include an exhibit commemorating its publication, entitled Che Bel Romanzo (trans. "That beautiful tale"). Sounds like a must-see, and fortunately, it will run through July.
A new museum, the National Museum of Italian Judaism and of the Shoah, is also in the works for Ferrara; it will be housed in a former prison, itself a historical location of fascist violence.
Who would we have found there among the anti-fascist and Jewish prisoners in 1943? None other than Mr. Bassani himself. Who survived and lived to recount his Bel Romanzo of Ferrara.
Misters Bassani and De Sica, thank you.
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Very informative! You sent my mind on a relaxing mini-vacation to a place with delicious foods and beautiful sights. Thank you.
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