We continued our morning walk with a visit to the Siena Synagogue which wasn't part of our formal tour.

The Siena synagogue is a notable, historic synagogue in Siena, Italy.

A substantial Jewish community is recorded in Siena beginning in the 14th century. In 1571 the Medici restricted Jewish residence to a defined neighborhood, or ghetto, and it was in this neighborhood that a synagogue was built on the Vicole dell Scotte very close to the Piazza del Campo. The Jews were emancipated from the requirement of living in a ghetto in 1860.

The present synagogue was erected in 1786 on the site of the older synagogue. Because Jews in that era were prohibited from building houses of worship identifiable from the street, the stone facade of the four story building is plain, resembling neighboring residential buildings. The sanctuary is located on the first floor (one flight up from street level). It has an elaborate neoclassical interior, with a lofty baroque ceiling featuring a large crowned tablet of the Ten Commandments enthroned in clouds of glory. Two tiers of balconies on the building's third and fourth stories have views into the room through elaborate baroque grills. Furniture is arranged in the historic style of the Italian Jewish community, with the bimah in the center of the room. The Torah Ark is a classical marble cabinet with marble pillars and entablature towering almost the height of the room.

The architect was Giuseppe del Rosso of Florence, the master builders were Niccolo Ianda and Pietro Rossi.

The synagogue is open to visitors.

The historic Jewish cemetery of Siena also survives and is open to visitors.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siena_synagogue

From the website: https://jguideeurope.org/en/region/italy/tuscany/siena/

Siena’s ghetto was created at the same time as that of Florence in 1571. The large Jewish presence in the city is verified by documents from the beginning of the thirteenth century that mention a universita iudarum. The Jewish quarter is in the heart of the city, near the Piazza Campo and between the present-day Via San Martino and Via di Salicotto. The narrow little streets and tall houses were partly destroyed during the urban renewal projects of 1935, but certain of them have kept their original appearance, as with the buildings in Via delle Scotte near the synagogue and the names of streets like the Vicolo della Fortuna and the Vicolo della Manna.

The lovely neoclassical synagogue was built in 1756 according to the design of the Florentine architect Giuseppe Del Rosso. The construction lasted thirty years. At the center of the large, high ceilinged hall is an elegant sculpted wood bimah decorated with nine-armed candelabras. The windows are surrounded by moldings in the shape of ionic columns, and among the Baroque stuccowork, the walls feature fourteen verses from the Bible. The beautiful eighteenth-century aron is surrounded by marble Corinthian columns.

Facing the synagogue, in Via degli Archi, stands the old fountain of the ghetto, which once boasted a statue of Moses. The statue was removed in the twentieth century dur to pressure from indignant Orthodox Jews, who saw the statue as a transgression of the law forbidding representation of the human figure. It is now located in the local museum.

At the gates of the city on Via Certosa, one can see the old Jewish cemetery, whose oldest graves date to the sixteenth century.

For additional images of Siena taken from our hotel room balcony including night shots, please see my previous posts:
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-797560-1.html#14405196
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-797832-1.html#14410902
https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-798008-1.html#14414852

I hope you enjoy these!
Mark