New medieval exhibition opens in Bologna
'The House of Life: Gold and Stories' display is open until January 2020, featuring dozens of jewels, gold, silver and bronze artefacts
Jenni Frazer is a freelance journalist
An exhibit featuring dozens of jewels as well as gold, silver and bronze artefacts from a recently rediscovered mediaeval Jewish cemetery was inaugurated at the Jewish Museum in Bologna, Italy, on June 20.
In 1393, a prominent Jewish family decided to buy a plot of land there, not far from where the Jewish neighbourhood used to stand.
As explained in a 2017 article in the local newspaper Il Resto del Carlino, the plot was soon donated to the Jewish community to serve as a cemetery.
The cemetery was used until 1569, when the pope issued a decree expelling Jews from the cities of the papal state which controlled large parts of Italy at the time, including Bologna.
The pontiff donated the land to a monastery, the nuns there even receiving permission to dispose of the tombs and their contents as they pleased.
Throughout the centuries, the Jewish cemetery was completely forgotten, until some of its remains were uncovered during construction work in 2012. Subsequent archaeological excavations uncovered over 400 tombs, making it the largest ancient Jewish cemetery ever discovered in Italy.
The exhibit, “The House of Life: Gold and Stories around the ancient Jewish cemetery of Bologna,” has been organised by the Bologna Jewish Museum and the Superintendency of Archaeology, Fine Arts and Landscape for Bologna, in collaboration with the Jewish community of Bologna.
It will be open until January 6, 2020.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
