Description
The Carlo and Vera Wagner Jewish Museum tells four centuries of life of Trieste's Jewish community, on Via del Monte, a short walk from the centre. Ritual silver, textiles, books and documents, in a building that was itself a piece of history.
The museum, opened in 1993, was set up by the Jewish Community with the support of the Wagner-de Polo family. After a refurbishment completed in 2015 the visit spreads over two levels, with all the content in English too.
The objects come mostly from the four synagogues built in the city between 1748 and 1825, dismantled when the great Synagogue of Trieste opened in 1912. The oldest piece on display dates from 1593.
Among the documents, two stand out: a handwritten pawn register from the mid-17th century, in Triestine dialect but in Hebrew characters, and the two sovereign patents that Empress Maria Theresa granted to the Jews of Trieste on 19 April 1771.
The visit also includes the small Ashkenazi oratory, created in the mid-1920s by Polish Jews. It was in use until 1987, and people still pray there from time to time.
The building itself is part of the story. It was a Jewish hospital and then, until 1941, the seat of the Jewish Agency: refugees fleeing the Nazis passed through here before boarding ships in Trieste for Palestine or the Americas.
The most moving section is devoted to the Shoah and to the deported Jews of Trieste. It displays personal belongings seized as they left, forgotten for decades in a basement of the Treasury Ministry in Rome and returned to the Community only in 2000.
The other rooms talk about spirituality and traditions, the history of the Community and its bond with the Land of Israel, with the help of multimedia content. Upstairs, a conference room often hosts events open to all.
The museum, opened in 1993, was set up by the Jewish Community with the support of the Wagner-de Polo family. After a refurbishment completed in 2015 the visit spreads over two levels, with all the content in English too.
The objects come mostly from the four synagogues built in the city between 1748 and 1825, dismantled when the great Synagogue of Trieste opened in 1912. The oldest piece on display dates from 1593.
Among the documents, two stand out: a handwritten pawn register from the mid-17th century, in Triestine dialect but in Hebrew characters, and the two sovereign patents that Empress Maria Theresa granted to the Jews of Trieste on 19 April 1771.
The visit also includes the small Ashkenazi oratory, created in the mid-1920s by Polish Jews. It was in use until 1987, and people still pray there from time to time.
The building itself is part of the story. It was a Jewish hospital and then, until 1941, the seat of the Jewish Agency: refugees fleeing the Nazis passed through here before boarding ships in Trieste for Palestine or the Americas.
The most moving section is devoted to the Shoah and to the deported Jews of Trieste. It displays personal belongings seized as they left, forgotten for decades in a basement of the Treasury Ministry in Rome and returned to the Community only in 2000.
The other rooms talk about spirituality and traditions, the history of the Community and its bond with the Land of Israel, with the help of multimedia content. Upstairs, a conference room often hosts events open to all.