Walks in RomeHare, Augustus J. C. (Augustus John Cuthbert)
History
Walks in Rome
Hare, Augustus J. C. (Augustus John Cuthbert)
Rome (Italy) -- Description and travel
Everything may be obtained in the Ghetto: precious stones, lace,
furniture of all kinds, rich embroidery from Algiers and Constantinople,
striped stuffs from Spain,--but all is concealed and under cover. "Cosa
cercate," the Jew shopkeepers hiss at you as you thread their narrow
alleys, and try to entice you into a bargain with them. The same article
is often passed on by a mutual arrangement from shop to shop, and meets
you wherever you go. On Friday evening all shops are shut, and bread is
baked for the Sabbath, all merchandise is removed, and the men go to the
synagogue, and wish each other "a good Sabbath," on their return.[96]
In the Piazza della Scuola are five schools under one roof--the Scuola
del Tempio, Catilana, Castigliana, Siciliana, and the Scuola Nuova,
"which show that the Roman Ghetto is divided into five districts or
parishes, each of which represents a particular race, according to the
prevailing nationality of the Jews, whose fathers have been either
Roman-Jewish from ancient times, or have been brought hither from Spain
and Sicily; the Temple-district is said above all others to assert its
descent from the Jews of Titus." In the same piazza, is the chief
synagogue, richly adorned with sculpture and gilding. On the external
frieze are represented in stucco the seven-branched candlestick, David's
harp, and Miriam's timbrel. The interior is highly picturesque and
quaint, and is hung with curious tapestries on festas. The frieze which
surrounds it represents the temple of Solomon with all its sacred
vessels. A round window in the north wall, divided into twelve panes of
coloured glass, is symbolical of the twelve tribes of Israel, and a type
of the Urim and Thummim. "To the west is the round choir, a wooden desk
for singers and precentors. Opposite, in the eastern wall, is the Holy
of Holies, with projecting staves (as if for the carrying of the ark)
resting on Corinthian columns. It is covered by a curtain, on which
texts and various devices of roses and tasteful arabesques in the style
of Solomon's temple are embroidered in gold. The seven-branched
candlestick crowns the whole. In this Holy of Holies lies the sealed
Pentateuch, a large parchment roll. This is borne in procession through
the hall and exhibited from the desk towards all the points of the
compass, whereat the Jews raise their arms and utter a cry."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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