{"id":2280,"date":"2026-03-20T12:11:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-20T16:11:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=2280"},"modified":"2026-07-19T11:03:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T15:03:54","slug":"great-synagogue-of-rome-tempio-maggiore","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/?page_id=2280","title":{"rendered":"Great\u00a0Synagogue\u00a0of\u00a0Rome\u00a0(Tempio\u00a0Maggiore)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In the Imperial age there were fourteen synagogues in the\u00a0City, ten in the Medieval period, five in the Ghetto and now only the Tempio Maggiore which unifies the Jewish community of the\u00a0City. This unusual looking, modern,\u00a020th<\/sup>\u00a0century\u00a0structure\u00a0is\u00a0located\u00a0along\u00a0the\u00a0Lungotevere\u00a0Cenci.\u00a0The\u00a0synagogue<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>was constructed after the unification of Italy in 1870 when the Roman Ghetto was demolished, and the Jews given full rights of citizenship. Its architectural elements, designed by Osvaldo Armanni and Vincenzo Costa, are, symbolic of its historic, middle eastern beginnings, a combination of Assyrian, Babylonian, Egyptian and Greco-Roman forms.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When its construction was completed in 1904, the King of Italy attended its consecration and most recently it has been visited by Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Because the earliest (1492) of the City\u2019s five medieval synagogues was that of the\u00a0Spanish (Sephardic) rite<\/span><\/strong>, it was decided in 1932 to include in the building a small synagogue reserved for it. Some of its appointments were transferred from the older Cinque\u00a0Scole.\u00a0Rectangular in shape, at its center,\u00a0sits\u00a0the\u00a0polychromatic\u00a0marble\u00a0aron\u00a0(Torah\u00a0scrolls\u00a0chamber)\u00a0from\u00a0the Catalana\u00a0Scole\u00a0and opposite it, the marble\u00a0tevah\u00a0(reader\u2019s platform), from the Cinque\u00a0Scole. Pews on both sides of this synagogue look toward the center and face each other.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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A\u00a0large\u00a0aluminum\u00a0covered\u00a0dome<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>and\u00a0square\u00a0base\u00a0give\u00a0the\u00a0synagogue an architecturally distinctive and unique structural style in the\u00a0City.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\u00a0two-storied\u00a0fa\u00e7ade\u00a0<\/span><\/strong>displays\u00a0the\u00a0Menorah\u00a0set\u00a0over\u00a0the\u00a0tympanum\u00a0at the top\u00a0containing\u00a0the Tables of the Law.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On the\u00a0first floor<\/span>,\u00a0<\/strong>the main temple space, long and rectangular, has a central\u00a0nave\u00a0and\u00a0two\u00a0smaller\u00a0lateral\u00a0sides.\u00a0The\u00a0Major\u00a0Aron,\u00a0a\u00a0remnant\u00a0from the Scola Nova, and the Torah from the Scola\u00a0Castigliana, are\u00a0located\u00a0at the end of the nave in a polygonal apse. Beautiful\u00a0stained glass\u00a0windows, designed by Cesare\u00a0Picchiarini\u00a0and Duilio\u00a0Cambellotti, fill the interior with\u00a0light.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The underground floor houses the\u00a0Jewish Museum<\/span>\u00a0<\/strong>which holds a collection\u00a0of\u00a0four\u00a0hundred\u00a0silver\u00a0pieces,\u00a0nine\u00a0hundred\u00a0textiles,\u00a0one\u00a0hundred marbles as well as documents and parchments which survived the Inquisition.\u00a0The Synagogue, besides\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0worship space, house the offices of the City\u2019s Chief Rabbi as well as cultural center for the Jewish community in the\u00a0City\u00a0(Communita\u00a0Ebraica\u00a0di Roma).\u00a0Since 1982, when terrorists attacked the building during the Lebanon War, the Synagogue\u00a0remains\u00a0under continual police surveillance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the Imperial age there were fourteen synagogues in the\u00a0City, ten in the Medieval period, five in the Ghetto and now only the Tempio Maggiore which unifies the Jewish community of the\u00a0City. This unusual looking, modern,\u00a020th\u00a0century\u00a0structure\u00a0is\u00a0located\u00a0along\u00a0the\u00a0Lungotevere\u00a0Cenci.\u00a0The\u00a0synagogue\u00a0was constructed after the unification of Italy in 1870 when the Roman Ghetto was demolished, and the Jews given full…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2280","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2280"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2280\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2632,"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2280\/revisions\/2632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/romeguide.hcc-nd.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}