Italia Ebraica—A Study Tour of Jewish Italy
October 11 thru 25, 2026
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 (14 nights) and buffet breakfasts
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4 dinners and 6 lunches
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Full time bilingual tour manager/escort and licensed 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 and study materials with Paul Forgasz as per itinerary
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 – Sunday, October 11: Venice [D]
Check into the Hyatt Centric Murano hotel. Welcome dinner in the evening.
Day 2 – Monday, October 12: Venice [L]
The day will commence with a study session in which we will examine points of intersection between the general and Jewish history of Italy. Following a group lunch, we will be guided walking through 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, the day ending with an evening tour in water taxi. (Overnight in Venice)
Day 3 – Tuesday, October 13: Venice [L]
In this morning’s study session we will continue with the previous day’s historical overview of Italian Jewry. A group lunch will follow. The focus of our afternoon tour will be on the medieval Jewish ghetto with its synagogues and the Jewish Museum. (Overnight in Venice)
Day 4 – Wednesday, October 14: 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 visit the world renown Giotto frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel, followed by a tour of the historical center, former Jewish ghetto, Jewish Museum, and baroque synagogue. We will then depart for Ferrara where we will check into the Hotel Ferrara (Casa d’Este).
Day 5 – Thursday, October 15: Ferrara
The day will begin with a tour of the of the city’s former ghetto area as well as its (if reopened) synagogues. Once home to some two thousand Jews and ten synagogues, Ferrara became one of the most flourishing and important Jewish centres in Italy. Giorgio Bassani, the Italian Jewish writer, was from Ferrara. He authored of the celebrated book, The Garden of the Finzi-Continis, based on the family of the same name who lived in Ferrara but met a tragic end during the Holocaust. In the afternoon we will visit Ferrara’s magnificent state-of-the-art Museum of Italian Judaism and 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 in Italian society. (Overnight in Ferrara)
Day 6 – Friday, October 16: Ferrara [L, D]
In this somewhat different study session, we will view and discuss Vittorio de Sica’s 1970 film, The Garden of the Finzi-Contini. A group lunch will follow with the afternoon unscheduled. In the evening we will gather to celebrate Shabbat. (Overnight in Ferrara)
Day 7 – Saturday, October 17: Ferrara—Bologna—Florence
We will depart for Bologna to visit its Jewish Museum and Jewish sites in the historical center. In the 15th–16th centuries the Bologna community included many rabbis and noted scholars with its eleven synagogues. After the advent of Guttenberg's press, Bologna became an important centre of Hebrew printing. We will then continue on to Florence and check into the Hotel Continentale.
Day 8 – Sunday, October 18: Florence [L]
The day will commence with a guided tour of Florence’s historic centre and Uffizi Gallery, one of the world’s leading five museums. 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. A group lunch will follow with the afternoon left unscheduled for suggested further museum visits. (Overnight in Florence)
Day 9 – Monday, October 19: Florence—Siena [L]
We will begin the day with a guided tour of Florence’s former ghetto area and its distinct green patina domed synagogue and Jewish museum. We then travel to Siena where will have a group lunch followed by a tour of the synagogue and city’s historic centre, returning to Florence in the early evening. (Overnight in Florence)
Day 10 – Tuesday, October 20: Florence
This morning we will visit the Academy Gallery, home to Michelangelo’s David and his Captives. The rest of the day and evening will be free for you to expore the city at your leisure. (Overnight in Florence)
Day 11 – Wednesday, October 21: Florence—Pitigliano—Rome
Departing Florence for Rome, we will pause at the stunning cliff-top village of Pitigliano. Known as La Piccola Gerusalemme or “Little Jerusalem,” it was home to a once-thriving Jewish population in the 16th century. We will visit the synagogue, mikveh and kosher butchery. We will proceed to Rome and check into the Hotel Imperiale.
Day 12 – Thursday, October 22: Rome
The day will commence with a guided tour of the archaeological areas of the Forum and Colosseum where we will discover their relationship in Jewish history. The afternoon will be devoted to a guided visit in the former Roman ghetto, Jewish Museum, Great Syngogue, and island of Tiberina. (Overnight in Rome)
Day 13 – Friday, October 23: Rome [L, D]
Today we will have a guided visit in Rome’s historic centre and its renown sites of the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, Piazza Navona, and the Pantheon. After a group lunch, we will be guided through the Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel and St Peter’s Basiilica. In the evening we will gather to celebrate to the Shabbat in a former ghetto restaurant. (Overnight in Rome)
Day 14 – Saturday, October 24: Rome [D]
The day will be free and at your leisure. In our final, late afternoon study session, we will continue our previous discussion of the popes and the Jews, focusing on the difficult issue of the Catholic Church and the Shoah and remarkable post-Holocaust transformation in Jewish-Catholic relations. In the evening, we will come together for a farewell dinner. (Overnight in Rome)
Day 15—Sunday, October 25
Hotel checkout and departure.
HOTEL INFORMATION
Venice: Hyatt Centric Murano
https://www.hyatt.com/hyatt-centric/vcect-hyatt-centric-murano-venice
Ferrara: Hotel Ferrara (Casa d’Este)
https://www.casadeste.it/en-GB
Florence: Hotel Continentale
https://www.lungarnocollection.com/continentale/
Rome: Hotel Imperial or Hotel Ponte Sisto