Italia Ebraica – A Study Tour of Jewish Italy
September 1 thru 14, 2025
Focusing on the varied and fascinating history of the Jews in Italy, this tour will be led by Paul Forgasz, who lectured for many years in Jewish history at Monash University’s Australian Centre for Jewish Civilisation. Since 2010, he has led Jewish study tours to various European destinations.
What is special about this tour?
As with any tour, you will visit towns, cities, and sites of both Jewish and general historical interest. Local guides will be on hand to explain the features of these sites. However, under Paul’s expert guidance, you will actively engage and interact with these places through the reading and analysis of texts, group discussions and simulations. You will thus step back into history, as you explore the amazing story of Italy’s Jews. You will re-live significant historical moments and experience the gamut of the Jewish experience in Italy: the earliest presence of Jews in Roman times, the highs and lows of the medieval Jewish experience, and Italian Jewry’s encounter with modern world.
Italian land package
The following are included in the land package:
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Four-star hotel accommodation (13 nights) and buffet breakfasts
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4 evening meals and 3 lunches
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Full time bilingual tour manager/escort and experienced English speaking local guides
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Entrance fees to sites and deluxe motor coach travel as per itinerary
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Tips for guides and bus drivers
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Study sessions with Paul Forgasz as per the itinerary and study materials
Not included in the tour price:
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Airfare and airport taxes
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Travel insurance
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Hotel transfers to and from the airport
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Tips for hotel staff (at your discretion)
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Hotel porterage
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Hotel extras such as mini bar, room service
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Meals other than breakfast and other meals designated above
TOUR ITINERARY
Day 1 – Monday, September 1: Venice
Check into the Hyatt Centric Murano hotel. Welcome dinner in the evening.
Day 2 – Tuesday, September 2: Venice
The day will commence with a study session in which we will examine points of intersection between the general and Jewish history of Italy. This will be followed by a guided walking tour which will include the must-see Venice sites: St Mark’s Square, the Basilica of San Marco, the Bridge of Sighs, and the Doge’s Palace. The remainder of the afternoon will be at your lesiure and the day’s program will end with an evening canal ride. Overnight in Venice
Day 3 – Wednesday, September 3: Venice
In this morning’s study session, we will continue with the previous day’s historical overview of Italian Jewry. The focus of our afternoon tour will be on Jewish Venice: the medieval ghetto and its beautiful synagogues, as well as the Jewish Museum.. Overnight in Venice
Day 4 – Thursday, September 4: Venice-Padua-Ferrara
This morning we depart for nearby Padua, for centuries one of the most important centres of Jewish life in Italy. We will see the world renowned Giotto frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, followed by a tour of the former medieval Jewish ghetto as well as a visit to the city’s beautiful baroque synagogue and Jewish Museum. We will then depart for Ferrara where we will check into the Hotel Annunziata.
Day 5 – Friday, September 5: Ferrara
The day will begin with a tour of the of the city’s former ghetto area as well as its synagogues (if reopened). Once home to some 2,000 Jews and ten synagogues, Ferrara became one of the most flourishing and important Jewish centres in Italy. The Italian Jewish writer, Giorgio Bassani was from Ferrara. He is the author of the celebrated book, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, which is based on the family of the same name who also lived in Ferrara, but met a tragic end during the Holocaust. In the afternoon we will visit Ferrara’s magnificennt state-of the-art Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah. In today’s study session we will focus on biographical portraits of some prominent Italian Jewish figures who made significant contributions to both the general and Jewish life of Italian society. In the evening we will gather to celebrate Shabbat. Overnight in Ferrara.
Day 6 – Saturday, September 6: Ferrara
The day will be free at your leisure. In our study session duirng the late afternoon, we will explore the historical relationship between the popes and the Jews. Given that Italy has for centuries been the home of the Vatican, the situation of the Italian Jews was more intimately and directly connected with the Papacy than elsewhere in Europe. Overnight in Ferrara.
Day 7 – Sunday, September 7: Ferrara-Bologna-Florence
Prior to our deprture for Bologna, we will gather for a viewing and discussion of Vittorio de Sica’s 1970 film, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, followed by group lunch. The tour of Bologna will encompass both its general and Jewish sites, including the synagogue, museum and historic centre. In the 15th–16th centuries the Bologna community included many rabbis and noted scholars and there were 11 synagogues in the city during this period. After the advent of Guttenberg's press, Bologna also became an important centre of Hebrew printing. We will contnune onto Florence and check into the Hotel Continentale.
Day 8 – Monday, September 8: Florence-Siena-Florence
The day will commence with a guided tour of Florence’s fomrer ghetto area, its beautfiul green domed synagogue and Jewish museum. We will continue to Siena where will have a group lunch, followed by a tour of the city’s historic centre and synagoue, returning to Florence in the evening. Overnight in Florence.
Day 9 – Tuesday, September 9: Florence
The day will commence with a guided tour of Florence’s historic centre and the Uffizi Gallery, one of the most famous art museums in the world. Given Florence’s role as the birthplace and cradle of the Renaissance, our study session in the late morning will focus on the Jews in the Renaissance. Following a group lunch, we will visit the Academy Gallery, home to Michelangelo’s sculpture of David. The rest of the day and evening will be free for you to expore the city at your leisure. Overnight in Florence.
Day 10 – Wednesday, September 10: Florence-Pitigliano-Rome
Departing Florence for Rome, on the way we will stop in the stunning cliff-top village of Pitigliano. It came to be known as La Piccola Gerusalemme or “Little Jerusalem”, because of its once-thriving Jewish population which settled there in the 16th century. We will visit the restored synagogue, mikveh and kosher butchery. On arrival in rome we will check into the Hotel Ponte Sisto.
Day 11 – Thursday, September 11: Rome
The day will commence with a guided tour of the ancient area of the Colosseum and Roman Forum and also learn about their Jewish connections. The afternoon will be devoted to a guided visit to the former Roman ghetto, the Great Syngogue and Jewish Museum. Overnight in Rome.
Day 12 – Friday, September 12: Rome
Today we will visit Rome’s historic centre and see various sites including the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona and the Pantheon. The day will end with a guided tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basiilica. In the evening we will gather to celebrate to the Shabbat in one of ghetto area’s renowned kosher restaurants. Overnight in Rome
Day 13 – Saturday, September 13: Rome
The day will be free at your leisure. In our final, late afternoon study session, we will continue our previous discussion of the popes and the Jews. We will focus on the difficult issue of the Catholic Church and the Shoah and on the remarkable post-Holocaust transformation of Jewish-Catholic relations. In the evening, we will come together for a farewell dinner. Overnight in Rome.
Day 14 – Sunday, September 14: Rome
Hotel checkout and departure.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Venice: Hyatt Centric Murano
https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-centric/vcect-hyatt-centric-murano-venice
Ferrara: Hotel Annunziata
Florence: Hotel Continentale
https://www.lungarnocollection.com/continentale/
Rome: Hotel Ponte Sisto