The First Ghetto

A sweeping, riveting history of the Venetian Ghetto, the world’s first Jewish ghetto. 'Brilliantly researched and deeply moving' Roger Crowley, author of City of Fortune'Alexander Lee combines expertise in Venetian history, with sensibility to the Jewish past, and a gift for story-telling.Highly recommended' Professor Miri Rubin, author of Cities of StrangersIn the early sixteenth century, amidst the ruins of war, and in an atmosphere of religious hatred, the world’s first Jewish ‘ghetto’ was established in Venice.Constrained in cramped, often insanitary conditions, the Jews who were forced to live there were extorted, abused and subjected to countless humiliating restrictions.Before long, Venice’s Ghetto became the prototype for ghettos throughout Europe, paving the way for a more vicious and enduring form of antisemitism. Yet the Ghetto’s story is also a testament of hope.Despite all they faced through the centuries, its residents thrived, creating a flourishing literary, musical and