The Jewish Museum of Soragna gathers the relics of the eight ancient Jewish communities of Parma to preserve the memory of an important chapter of local and regional history. The Museum is organized into several rooms that house and display documents ranging from 1555 to 1803 (papal bulls, decrees); relics from the communities of Cortemaggiore, Fiorenzuola, and Soragna; photographic documentation of the ancient synagogues; documentation on the 1938 racial laws and the Holocaust perpetrated under the Nazi regime; a collection of precious ritual and worship items (Torah scrolls with related coverings in precious fabrics and silver crowns); and ancient prayer books. The geographic position of Soragna, at the center of the territories of the States of Parma where in the mid-16th century the eight Jewish communities of Borgo S. Donnino, now Fidenza, Busseto, Colorno, Cortemaggiore, Fiorenzuola, Monticelli, and Soragna were established, represented the ideal location for creating a museum of Jewish culture. Inaugurated in 1982 in the premises annexed to the synagogue and later dedicated to the memory of its founder, Fausto Levi, it is divided into several sections. In the two small rooms to the left of the entrance is the general historical section with papal bulls, decrees, and documents from 1555 to 1803, exhibited in original or reproduction, along with testimonies on deportations and the Holocaust. Also on the ground floor, a large recently arranged area is dedicated to documentation of the ancient Jewish communities of Cortemaggiore, Fiorenzuola, and Soragna, while a photographic display illustrates the interiors of the ancient synagogues in the area. Upstairs, some furnishings from the Cortemaggiore synagogue are preserved. In the entry atrium to the synagogue, sacred silverware, books, and worship materials from the 18th to 19th centuries are exhibited. The visit route also includes the evocative synagogue hall inaugurated in 1855: in neoclassical style, it is decorated with stuccoes by Antonio Rusca and frescoes by Giuseppe Levi; the gallery, enclosed by finely crafted metal grilles, is noteworthy.
Information about Fausto Levi Jewish Museum
Via Cavour, 43,
43019 Soragna (Parma)
0524599399
info@museoebraicosoragna.net
https://www.museoebraicosoragna.net
Source: MIBACT
