Description
Book SynopsisThe thrilling story of the Jews in Venice and the truth behind one of Shakespeare''s most famous characters.
Millions of visitors flood to Venice every year. Yet many are unaware of its history one of dramatic expansion but also of rapid decline. And essential to any history of Venice during its glory days is the story of its Jewish population. Venice gave the world the word ghetto. Astonishingly, the ghetto prison turned out to be as remarkable a place as the city of Venice itself.
With sound scholarship and a narrator''s skill, Harry Freedman tells the story of Venice's Jews. From the founding of the ghetto in 1516, to the capture of Venice by Napoleon in 1797, he describes the remarkable cultural renaissance that took place in the Venice ghetto. Gates and walls notwithstanding, for the first time in European history Jews and Christians mingled intellectually, learned from each other, shared ideas and entered modernity together. When it came to cultur
Trade Review
If Shakespeare had travelled to Venice, he would have experienced the vibrant, bustling, conflicted life of the Ghetto, vividly evoked in Harry Freedman’s gallery of memorable characters. This book shows how Shylock’s real contemporaries, confined within a narrow space, made their voices heard far and wide. * Professor Shaul Bassi *
Harry Freedman has written an attractive account of the history and culture of the Venetian Ghetto. The book is readable, well-researched, and incorporates the figure of Shylock in new ways. As Freedman adeptly shows, the Venetian Ghetto was an intellectual and creative hothouse – from music and poetry to medicine and Kabbalah – which included many extraordinary individuals such as Leon Modena and Sara Copia Sulam. Shylock’s Venice demonstrates that the ghetto had a reach far beyond the Venetian Empire. * Bryan Cheyette, author of The Ghetto: A Very Short Introduction (2020) *
Table of Contents
Introduction 1 Crossing the Lagoon 2 Confrontation and Segregation 3 Crossing Boundaries 4 Concord and Dispute 5 More Trouble 6 Stability and Friction 7 The Lion Who Roared 8 Music and Culture in the Ghetto 9 Politics and Diplomacy 10 Edging Towards Modernity 11 Decline Epilogue Acknowledgements Notes Bibliography Index A Note on the Author
