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Between ghetto and state: Religious policy, liberal reformand Jewish corporate politics in Piedmont, 1821-1831 Item Type text; Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) Authors Kaye, Deborah Allison Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 09:58:18 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/280712 BETWEEN GHETTO AND STATE: RELIGIOUS POLICY, LIBERAL REFORM AND JEWISH CORPORATE POLITICS IN PIEDMONT, 1821-1831 by Deborah Allison Kaye Copyright© Deborah Allison Kaye 2004 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2004 UMI Number: 3158110 Copyright 2004 by Kaye, Deborah Allison All rights reserved. INFORMATION TO USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. Broken or indistinct print, colored or poor quality illustrations and photographs, print bleed-through, substandard margins, and improper alignment can adversely affect reproduction. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if unauthorized copyright material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI UMI Microform 3158110 Copyright 2005 by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights reserved. This microform edition is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest Information and Learning Company 300 North Zeeb Road P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 2 The University of Arizona ® Graduate College As members of the Final Examination Committee, we certify that we have read the dissertation prepared by Deborah Allison Kave Entitled: Between Ghetto and State: Religious Policy, Liberal Reform and Jewish Corporate Politics in Piedmont. 1821-1831 and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Q 10-29-04 Dr. Hermann Rebel, Chair of the Committee date 10-29-04 Dr. Richard Cosgrove date 10-29-04 Dr. Linda Darling date date Final approval and acceptance of this dissertation is contingent upon the candidate's submission of the final copies of the dissertation to the Graduate College. I ^reby certify that I have read this dissertation prepared under my direction and recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the dissertation requirement. Dr. Hermann Rebel, Dissertation Director 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for an advanced degree at The University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from the dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgement of source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED:/f d.. 4 Acknowledgments One of the many rewards of finishing a dissertation is the chance to finally thank the numerous individuals and institutions whose help made it possible. I remain deeply indebted to my mentor Hermann Rebel for his wisdom, guidance, and above all, his humanity. Richard Cosgrove and Linda Darling also provided invaluable criticism and advice. Research for this project was supported by grants from the U.S. Fulbright Program to Italy, The Council for European Studies, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation and an IHR Mellon Fellowship for research in the British Archives. The Jay Silverman Scholarship and the Louise Foucar Marshall Fund at the University of Arizona provided crucial assistance during the writing period. Lucy Riall kindly directed my research during my tenure as a fellow at the Institute for Historical Research in London where I profited immensely from the opportunity to participate in the unique community of historians of modem Italy in Britain. Thanks to Geoffrey Symcox and Anthony Cardoza for their comments and assistance along the way, and to Raymond Grew at The University of Michigan who inspired me to pursue Italian Studies in the first place. In Italy, Luciano Allegra not only offered me his time and assistance over the years as I travelled back and forth to Turin, but his hospitality and friendship. I would also like to acknowledge the assistance of archivists in Turin, in particular, Anna Paglieri at the State Archives in Turin. A special thanks to Professor Giovanni Levi, Renata Segre, Laura Voghera Luzzato and Amos Luzzato, Guido and Nora Perugia, Giorgina Levi, Leah Fubini, Natalie Tedeschi, Paolo Levi, Dan Segre, Umberto Fortis, Flora Allais Grassi, Milena DiPede and Gregorio Perucci, Anna Baggieri, and Francesca Naretti, all who opened their homes and hearts to me on many occasions in Turin and Venice. I am indebted to the parish of Sant'Anna and the warmth and friendship of everyone at the Casa d'Accoglienza who made my stay in Turin a truly ecumenical experience. A very special thanks to Yvette Wingfield for her excellent editing skills. Finally, I am eternally grateful to my mother Joan and to Jay and Lindley for their love and support. In memory of my father Moshe 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES 8 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 9 ABSTRACT 10 INTRODUCTION Rethinking Italian-Jewish Relations in the Risorgimento 12 Religious Policy and Liberal Reform in a Neo-Absolutist State 14 Prospects for Change: Re-conceptualizing the Liberal Project for Jewish History 25 Discussion of Sources and Chapter Overview 32 I. NAPOLEON'S LEGACY AND JEWS IN PIEDMONT Jewish Policy Before the Restoration 45 The State-Planned Confiscation of Jewish-owned Properties: The Royal Patents of 1816 50 Jewish Appeals: Patterns and Procedure 53 Jews and the Economy in Post-Napoleonic Piedmont 57 II. SECULARIZATION From Turin to Rome: Jewish Policy and Papal Politics in the Restoration 70 The Jewish Policy Report (1823-1825) 72 The Legal Battle for La Sperandera 106 Toward a History of Neo-Absolutist Revivals 121 III. FORCED BAPTISM Clandestine Baptism and Liberal Politics 125 An Overview of Jewish Policy in Genoa 127 The Politics of Christianization in Genoa (1824-1828) 132 Legal Testimony and Spiritual Intention: The Case of Davide Tedeschi(1824) 141 International Repercussions: The Forced Baptism of Giuseppe Scion (1826-1828) 169 TABLE OF CONTENTS-CONTINUED IV. THE GHETTO Ghettoization and Urban Restructuring in Turin (1821-1824) 188 The Turin Ghetto and Municipal Poor Relief. 190 Alternative "Solutions" and State Interventions 217 Ghettoization and Expansion 227 V. "NATION WITHIN A NATION" Ghetto Annexation in Restoration Acqui, (1824-1831) 231 The Acqui Commune vs. Toso and Debenedetti 234 Cavalli's "Ghetto Experiment" 244 What Piedmontese Jewish History Can Teach Us About Conceptualizing "Civil Society" 257 VI. CHRISTIAN SERVANTS Women on the Margins; Christian Servants in the Acqui Ghetto 262 The Report on Female Christian Servants (1826) 264 Immischiamento and The Case of the Christian Carpenter 274 VII. JEWISH COURTIERS A Tunisian Rabbi at the Savoyard Court (1821-1824) 281 A State Intervention in Rabbinical Appointments 283 Abram Belaiss Naskar: The Biography of a Jewish Courtier 288 The Jewish Community of Nice vs. the Tunisian Rabbi 302 VIII. JEWISH FAMILY FIRMS Jewish Family Firms and Political Economy Before the Risorgimento 328 Market Problems and The Impact of Napoleonic Restructuring: The Case of David Levi e Figli 331 Business Strategies of the Levi Firm in the Neo-Absolutist State 348 CONCLUSION 370 REFERENCES 374 8 LIST OF TABLES TABLE I. Jewish Appeals of Sardinia-Piedmont, 1824-1831 55 TABLE II. Christian Servants in Jewish Households, 1826 273 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS FIGURE I. Map of the City of Acqui, 1823 10 ABSTRACT This dissertation considers the relationship between religious policy and liberal reform in Italy after the Congress of Vienna in 1815 by examining how the royal and civic administrations in the newly restored kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont grappled with the enforcement of religious policies governing the Jewish corporate community in the 1820s. It argues that modem state formation in Restoration Piedmont was the product of struggles between the state and various corporate interests over the direction and enforcement of Jewish policies designed to expropriate Jewish-owned properties. The failure to implement Jewish policies, including among other laws, prohibitions against property ownership and enforced ghettoization, resulted in a series of legislative debates that eventually culminated in Jewish emancipation by 1848. First, this study considers the negotiations between the papacy and the Savoyard state over the forced sale of Jewish-owned property and the secularization of formerly ecclesiastical properties. Related issues discussed include debates surrounding the forced baptism and kidnapping of Jewish children in Genoa, revealing ways in which the church attempted to assert its power in the neo-absolutist state. Second, this dissertation examines processes involved in state-directed ghettoization, 11 demonstrating tliat "ghetto" policies served as a means to expand Jewish real estate investment