The museum boasts new exhibition halls, a bookshop, a library and modern multimedia installations.
The renovation was funded by the Ministry of Culture as well as private donors and the design, led by museum group Opera Laboratori, focuses on bringing the surrounding ghetto into the building.
Italian Synagogue is one of the three which visitors can tour (Image: Opera Laboratori)[Missing Credit]
The project included the renovation of three of the five synagogues in Venice: the German Synagogue (Scola Tedesca), the Italian Synagogue (Scola Italiana) and the Canton Synagogue (Scola Canton), all located in Campo del Ghetto Novo, the ghetto’s central square. The interiors have been decorated elaborately, while maintaining their original, historical character.
Visitors will be able to visit the museum and shuls – which are still in use by the small community that remains – on one ticket.
An exhibition room inside the museum open to the public (Image: Opera Laboratori)[Missing Credit]
The other two synagogues in the area are the Levantine and the Spanish synagogues, both of which may join the museum project in the future.
Giuseppe Costa, president and CEO of Opera Laboratori, said: “We are particularly proud to have been able to contribute to such an important project.
“Our collaboration with the Jewish Community of Venice stems from a well-established partnership in the management and promotion of the Ghetto, which now finds a further milestone in the new museum.
The Spanish Synagogue wasn't part of the project but is in dialogue with the museum (Image: Opera Laboratori)[Missing Credit]
“The goal is to help make this universal heritage increasingly accessible, understandable, and vibrant, without losing the connection to its identity and to the Venetian community that still preserves it today.”
The Jewish presence in Venice dates back to before the year 1000. Today, around 500 Jews call the city home.
