Ghetto – External Square

The so-called ‘Ghetto’ is a closed alley, created during the 16th-century expansion of the castle walls and originally intended for the forced residence of Jews. In 1555, Pope Paul IV ordered the creation of at least one street for this purpose, closed by a single gate, in the urban centers of the Papal States. However, as early as 1569, Pius V decided to concentrate the ‘Jews’ solely in the cities of Rome and Ancona. The first building on the left, isolated, overlooking the small castle square but with an original entrance to the ‘Ghetto’, complete with courtyard and a large grain pit, likely served as the religious headquarters of the small community, adjacent to the gate that closed off the area reserved for Jews.