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In 1390 there was an influx of Jewish refugees into Venice from the mainland. In 1516, though the island depended on Jewish medicinal and financial skills, the government forced them into the Ghetto Nuovo. Situated directly in the center of Cannaregio, the Ghetto was sealed off from the community by gates, and guards were stationed to enforce curfew. The location of the Ghetto, in the northernmost district, which was once an isolated island, reflects the aim of a baroque city plan to deny lower classes access to the center of the city. |
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 Ghetto Building (In Venice) |
As more and more of the Jewish population was confined to the Ghetto it became unbelievably crowded and the government was forced to expand. The Ghetto Vechio was built in 1541 and the Ghetto Nuovissimo in 1633. In 1797 Napoleon tore down the gates of the Ghetto and Jews achieved equal standing in Venice when the city entered the Kingdom of Italy in 1866 |
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Today the city’s Jewish population (around 600) is spread throughout the city, though the Ghetto remains the heart of their community and the site of their library, kosher restaurants and offices. The area poses many problems to architects and city planners because of the restrictive zoning codes under which the buildings were constructed. |
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| During the Ghetto’s construction, height restrictions were implemented and no buildings were allowed to be more than one-third the height of any other Venetian building. These height limitations resulted in the building of very low floors in order to cram as many people into the area as possible. Today, the cramped living conditions and the increased weakness of buildings caused by flooding and age, render the housing uninhabitable and therefore another addition to Venice’s problems of wasted space and deterioration. | |||||
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