ABSTRACT
Venice was the city that gave the name “ghetto” to the compulsory and segregated Jewish quarter, undoubtedly one of the most prominent manifestations of the once almost universally held lachrymose conception of Jewish history. This approach postulated that the experience of the Jewish people was primarily one of persecution and suffering. The basic protection of the Jews continued, despite the establishment of the ghetto in 1516 and the existence of numerous other restrictions. In 1520, the Heads of the Council of Ten forbade Friar Albertino from preaching in Venice and Padua after his Holy Week sermons induced the Paduans to consider demanding the expulsion of the Jews from Padua. While considerations of space preclude a comparison between the treatment of the Jews in Venice and their position in other places on the Italian peninsula, it is illuminating briefly to compare the Venetian attitude toward the Jews with that toward other non-Catholic religious groups.
