Comparative Synagogue Architecture in the Venetian Ghetto, 1500-1800 A Senior Honors Thesis for the Department of Art and Art History Emily Cannon Tufts University, 2014 Acknowledgements Throughout this process there have been many stressful nights and mental blocks but in the end it was such a rewarding process, and there were two particular people who helped me through. First, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Abramson for his unwavering support in helping me through this process, not by telling me what to do but by sending me on the right path and letting me make my own choices and mistakes. Secondly, I would especially like to thank my close friend and fellow architecture nerd, Jon Duval for his continued support throughout this process. A self-named harsh critic when editing, not only helped become a better writer in the future but also improve within the span of my writing period for my thesis. His support throughout the researching and writing of my thesis meant the world to me. When I was thinking of how much more was still to come, he would look at my situation as the glass half full and it always made me feel better. Table of Contents Preface 1 Introduction 2 Chapter 1: Historical Context and Background of the Ghetto 10 Chapter 2: The Synagogues of the Venetian Ghetto 18 Scuola Grande Tedesca 19 Scuola Canton 23 Scuola Levantina 28 Scuola Italiana 31 Scuola Spagnola 35 Conclusion 38 Chapter 3: A Comparison of the Venetian Ghetto Synagogues 39 The Five-Window Motif 40 Exterior 41 Approach to Hall of Worship 42 Hall of Worship 46 The ArK 47 The Bimah 50 The Cupola 53 Conclusion 53 Chapter 4: Comparative Synagogue Architecture within Europe 55 Italian Synagogues 56 Ancona 56 Livorno 59 Iberian Synagogues 62 Tomar 62 German Synagogues 65 Berlin 65 Ansbach 67 Conclusion 70 Chapter 5: Comparative Synagogue and Church Architecture 71 General Church Design 73 Churches and Synagogues 79 ArK and Bimah vs Altar and Pulpit 82 Conclusion 87 Conclusion 89 Images Index iv Works Cited xliv iii Preface While studying abroad last spring in Florence, I visited Venice with my architecture studio class and saw famous locales such as Piazza San Marco and Ponte di Rialto. However, we also visited a section of the city rather unknown to tourists—the Venetian Ghetto. While in the ghetto, my professor described to us the situation from which the ghetto and the well-hidden synagogues came about. While talking, he also described that, even though their exteriors were plain and undistinguishable the interiors of the synagogues were lush with ornamentation and color. I could not believe it but when I looked at pictures he gave us in the handout, I was immediately mesmerized and intrigued. I wanted to learn as much as I could about the Venetian Ghetto and its synagogues and how they have been influenced and shaped over time. Therefore, my thesis will attempt to discover new relations between the synagogues within the Venetian Ghetto while also comparing them to other synagogues in Europe and churches within Venice. 1 Introduction Introduction 2 Introduction This thesis will not only consider each Venetian Ghetto synagogue individually, but also explore how they came to be and their relationships to each other, from their origin in the 16th century through their restoration in the 17th-18th century. From there I will compare the Venetian synagogues to synagogues in the regions from where the majority of the Jewish population of Venice originated: Spain, Germany, and other locations in Italy. I will then return to Venice and compare the synagogues to other nearby religious buildings. It is important to examine the architecture of other religious monuments since Venice, from the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries, since Venice was dominated socially, economically, and politically by the Catholic Church. This thesis will add a new facet to the understanding of the Venetian Ghetto through its presentation of the material using the comparative method. As research was conducted, it was noted that many scholars have studied the synagogues individually but there has not been any research that compared different aspects of synagogue design to each other. Using the comparative method not prevalent in existing research, I will discover new patterns in synagogue designs and their similarities to not only other synagogues in Europe but to churches. The beginning of my thesis will give the reader background knowledge on the tumultuous social and political climate of Venice that lead to the creation of the Venetian Ghetto. After background of the ghetto, each individual synagogue will be discussed in turn, starting with the oldest one, Scuola Grande Tedesca and continuing chronologically to the Scuola Canton, Scuola Italiana, and Scuola Levantina, ending with the Scuola Spagnola. Within each discussion of the individual synagogue, there will be a particular approach. During the course of research of English and Italian texts, I discovered that English texts 3 Introduction were organized in a very rational and compartmentalized way. An example of this is a text by David Cassuto named “The Scuola Grande Tedesca in the Venetian Ghetto” which describes the building in an orderly manner covering the façade first then proceeding to the hall of worship and plan and then a separate section for both the Bimah and Ark. By contrast, the Italian texts focused on the overall effect or impression that was shaped by different parts that were brought in here and there throughout; it was more holistic. An example of this type of text is “La Citta degli Ebrei: Il Ghetto di Venezia, Architettura e Urbanistica” by Ennio Concina which takes the reader on a journey, describing the features of the synagogue as one travels through it, creating a flowing text without the restrictions of sections. This approach to discussing a building was an all- encompassing method to cover the topics in a sensible order and therefore the discussion of the synagogues within my thesis will follow that format. To delve further into this process, first a brief overview of the synagogue will be provided so there is context. Next is a detailed investigation of the different aspects of the synagogue and how one would journey through the space and experience them. Using this tactic, there will be a creation of a hybrid method that discusses the synagogue as one moves through the space, but also takes time to create defined sections on significant areas within the synagogue. The discussion will start with the façade, then the entrance with the stairs, vestibule and then the first impression of the synagogue and how it feels. After discussing these first features in the context of the Italian method, the text will briefly deviate to the English method to discuss the plan followed by the two main interior elements in a synagogue, the Ark and Bimah separated into two sections due to their overall importance. This will be the outline for each synagogue. 4 Introduction Following the descriptions and discoveries found in the individual synagogue, a comparison between the synagogues to find points of commonality and difference will occur. The same method used to describe each individual synagogue will be employed to compare them to each other: first the façade, then how the space moves and feels followed by the plan, Ark and Bimah. Since the ghetto did not exist free from outside influence, there will be a discussion on its relationship to other synagogues. However, these synagogues were not chosen at random. The three main ethnic groups within the ghetto were the Italians, Iberians (Spanish and Portuguese) and Germans. Within Italy, the Scuola Italiana in Ancona and the Renaissance Synagogue in Livorno will be discussed. Also included in discussion are the synagogue at Tomar, Portugal, to the Scuola Spagnola and the synagogues of Heidereutergasse in Berlin and the synagogue in Ansbach to the Scuola Grande Tedesca. Each synagogue was chosen to discover if there is any connection between them. Throughout the section, the same format will be used again, a hybrid of the organization of English and Italian texts. Following the comparison between the Venetian synagogues and those in other countries, the Venetian Ghetto synagogues will be compared to churches within Venice. It is important to not ignore the other religious buildings within Venice. There were many architects who did not focus on a singular type of building. There was one prominent architect who constructed both churches and synagogues. This was Baldassare Longhena who renovated and embellished the synagogues in the 1600s but also worked on churches like San Pietro di Castello and Santa Maria della Salute, both which will be discussed later on. However, going unnoted by all authors researched, it was not just a Christian architect 5 Introduction who created the influence of Christian architectural features in the synagogues. It is also important to note that the Venetian Ghetto was not self sufficient and therefore when they needed aid, someone from outside the ghetto, a Christian, came in to help. Therefore, an interaction between Christians and Jews occurred that could also add to the influence of churches on synagogues as well. This is will also be discussed later on in Chapter 6. During the period of Venice under discussion, the churches were freestanding and had few if any restrictions, unlike the synagogues, which were closely incorporated into existing buildings and districts and whose designs were similarly constrained. The lack of restrictions for churches left the door open to a variety of designs that are not found in the synagogues. However, to define an environment under which the synagogues and churches can be compared leads me to focus on two specific aspects of churches, the altar and pulpit.