National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS), Ferrara

The National Museum of Italian Judaism and the Shoah (MEIS) was established in Ferrara based on law April 17, 2003, no. 91 (amended by law 296 of December 27, 2006). The decision recognizes and enhances the exceptional continuity of the more than two-thousand-year Jewish presence in the Peninsula. Jews represent an essential reference for understanding Italian history and culture. The cultural contribution brought by Italian Jews has been extraordinary both to Judaism as a whole and to the civilization of our country. Over the centuries they have helped establish numerous connections between Italy, Europe, and the other shores of the Mediterranean. Therefore, the Jewish minority must be assigned a valuable role as a link between cultures and civilizations. Finally, it is important to consider how Jews have been viewed from the outside. In this field, there were and are fruitful exchanges; however, there is also evidence of long-lasting hostility that culminated in the extreme events that marked the twentieth century.

The site chosen as the MEIS headquarters is the vast complex of the former city prisons. The building, inaugurated in 1912, was decommissioned in 1992. Through qualified urban and architectural interventions, the aim is now to recover for the city a place of segregation and exclusion. In this way, a space of marginalization (and subsequently of dilapidated abandonment) located right in the city center, close to the former ghetto area where the historic synagogues and other important signs of Ferrara’s famous Jewish past are still found, will become open and frequented.

The management of the Museum is entrusted to a Foundation established between the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities, the Municipality of Ferrara, the CDEC (Center for Contemporary Jewish Documentation), and the UCEI (Union of Italian Jewish Communities).