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Home / Museums and Galleries /

The Great Synagogue of Rome

Written by: Kate Zusmann

The Great Synagogue of Rome Italy
Tip The Synagogue can only be accessed through the Jewish Museum and must be visited as part of a guided tour offered by the museum.
Opening Hours
Sunday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Monday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Recommended tour
Closest bus stops
P.Za Monte Savello3 min 128 m: 23 280
Foro Olitorio4 min 192 m: H
Closest subway stations
Circo Massimo24 min 1.2 km: B
Address Lungotevere de' Cenci, Roma
Website romaebraica.it

The Great Synagogue (Italian: Tempio Maggiore di Roma) is a place for prayer and a symbol of the freedom of the Jewish community in Rome. Also, it serves as a cultural center for the community. The Jewish Museum of Rome inside shows the history of the Jewish community in the Eternal City.

the synagogue of Rome

Contents

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  • Things to Know before Visit Great Synagogue of Rome
    • How many synagogues are there in Rome?
    • How do you visit the Great Synagogue of Rome?
    • Where is the oldest synagogue in Italy?
    • What’s the difference between a temple and a synagogue?
    • Can you wear pants to synagogue?
    • Is there a dress code for a synagogue?
    • Do Jews have to go to synagogue every week?
    • Is the Great Synagogue of Rome Orthodox?
    • Who can marry in a synagogue?
    • Where is the biggest synagogue in the world?
    • Why did the Romans tolerate the Jews?
  • History of the Construction of the Great Roman Synagogue
    • Judaism in Brief
    • The Jewish Museum of Rome
      • How could the Jews of the Ghetto donate such treasures?
    • The Present Synagogue
    • Design
  • What to Look Out for Inside the Great Synagogue of Rome?
  • Nearby Attractions

Things to Know before Visit Great Synagogue of Rome

How many synagogues are there in Rome?

There are 15 synagogues located in different areas of Rome.

How do you visit the Great Synagogue of Rome?

You can't visit the Synagogue on your own or with a private tour guide of your choice. Private tours of the Synagogue and the Jewish Museums must be arranged directly with the Jewish Museum Office by phone or via email.

Where is the oldest synagogue in Italy?

The Ostia Synagogue is located in ancient Ostia, the seaport of Imperial Rome. It is one of the oldest synagogues in the world, the oldest synagogue in Europe, and the oldest synagogue ever discovered outside of Israel.

What’s the difference between a temple and a synagogue?

In Jewish culture, the term "temple" refers to the main place of worship, the temple constructed in Jerusalem. And both historically and currently, the synagogue has been a center of community, instruction, and prayer. Just as it was at the time of Jesus, it remains essential to Jewish life today.

Can you wear pants to synagogue?

Any prayer service in some synagogues is expected to be attended in formal clothes (suits for men and dresses or pants suits for women).

Is there a dress code for a synagogue?

It is customary to dress nicely because the synagogue is considered a place of worship. More casual attire is appropriate for several occasions that do not involve regular prayer services. Although some synagogues are more casual, most women wear dresses and men wear suits.

Do Jews have to go to synagogue every week?

Many Jews attend synagogue services on Shabbat even if they do not do so during the week. Services are held on Shabbat eve (Friday night), Shabbat morning (Saturday morning), and late Shabbat afternoon (Saturday afternoon). Devout Jews pray three times a day with the three worship services echoing the three sacrifices in the ancient Temple and carrying the same names: Shacharit (morning), Mincha (afternoon), and Arvit (evening).

Is the Great Synagogue of Rome Orthodox?

Yes, it is. In Orthodox synagogues, men and women are still separated and will sit in different parts of the synagogue for the service. In Reform synagogues, men and women are now seated together.

Who can marry in a synagogue?

If a synagogue is used as the venue for the wedding, the couple—who must be both Jewish—arranges their civil marriage with the registrar of the synagogue. This person is a synagogue member who is licensed to handle the legal aspects of the wedding (it can be the rabbi).

Where is the biggest synagogue in the world?

Dohány Street Synagogue Dohány utcai zsinagóga (in Hungarian) (1859, Budapest, Hungary)

Why did the Romans tolerate the Jews?

Rome did this in part as a result of the Jews helping Roman general Julius Caesar in a crucial victory in a previous battle. Rome soon acknowledged Judaism as a legal religion, allowing Jews to practice their faith freely.

History of the Construction of the Great Roman Synagogue

Osvaldo Armanni and Vincenzo Costa designed the Great Synagogue. Between 1901 and 1904, construction took place. Importantly, they chose an eye-catching ArtDeco style to commemorate the newly discovered independence of Rome’s Jewish community.

Rome Jewish Ghetto before

The Italian king Victor Emmanuel II granted Rome’s Jews full citizenship during his reign. As a result, the community started preparing for a new place of worship after the historical destruction of the old Synagogue.

Judaism in Brief

Judaism is a religion, the first to embrace monotheism, i.e. the belief in one G-d.

The Jewish Museum of Rome inside

According to tradition, Judaism developed among the Semitic tribes with Abraham, in a region that we can place historically between Caldea and Canaan around the 16th century BCE. It was Moses in the 13th-12th century BCE who gave the Jews their self-awareness as a people, leading them into the Land of Israel, and transmitting the Divine Law: the Ten Commandments written on the Tablets of the Law, and the Torah”Pentateuch”, i.e. the first books of the Bible. The 613 mitzvoth (commandments) that Jews are obliged to observe are drawn from the Bible.

The diaspora started after the Roman conquest, and the Jews were dispersed throughout Spain and along the coasts of the Mediterranean (Sephardic Jews), in Central and Northern Europe (Ashkenazi Jews), and in Italy, where Jewish colonies already existed.

Along with the Orthodox tradition (the point of reference of Italian and Roman Jewry), even if not everyone in private observes every single commandment), modern Judaism comprises other movements. Especially in English-speaking countries, these movements aim to modernize some exterior aspects of Judaism (Conservative Judaism) or otherwise do not consider themselves strictly bound by tradition (Reform or Liberal Judaism).

Nowadays there are 15 million Jews worldwide, 35.000 Jews in Italy, and 13.500 Jews living in Rome.

The Jewish Museum of Rome

The Jewish Museum inside the Great Synagogue of Rome

The Jewish Museum of Rome contains splendid works donated by Jews living in the Ghetto (1555-1870) to their five synagogues or “cinque scole”. The synagogues were not only places for prayer, but also centers of congregation and study. They were the comfortable living rooms missing in the small, dark, damp houses of the Ghetto, and the Roman Jews showed their attachment to these common houses with sumptuous gifts.

How could the Jews of the Ghetto donate such treasures?

First, Jews were traditionally money lenders; their banks held precious or antique objects in exchange for money they lent. When pledges were not redeemed, they were sold to recover their money. Therefore, one of the banks’ complementary businesses was the antique trade. These two activities continued hand in hand until 1682 when Jewish loan banks were abolished to foster Christian banks, known as Monti di Pieta. While the Jews were forbidden to work as bankers, trading in luxury items remained their other occupation.

The Jewish Museum in Rome

As far back as the 16th century, Jews bought and sold furniture, textiles, and antiques and provided complete, ready-to-use interior furnishings for the palaces of the nobility, for people residing in the city temporarily, or during special events such as conclaves, periods of mourning, ceremonies, celebrations, performances, and holidays.

During the ghetto period, the Jews of Rome were not allowed to work as silversmiths, so they had to turn to non-Jewish artisans when they wanted to donate to their synagogue. All the silver objects produced in Rome and on display in the Jewish Museum of Rome are the work of Christian silversmiths.

Tempio Maggiore Rome Synagogue

The textiles are primarily antique fabrics purchased second-hand from the palaces of the nobility. The Jews then adapted them for synagogue use, applying embroidery and trimmings. Needlework was one of the specialties of the Ghetto of Rome, with one unique characteristic: in a world where it was a male profession, in the Ghetto, the embroiderers were women.

The Present Synagogue

Inside the Great Synagogue in Rome

Shortly after Italy’s unification in 1870, when the Kingdom of Italy captured Rome, and the Papal States ceased to exist, the current Synagogue was built. Jews received citizenship, and the Roman Ghetto was destroyed. The complex structure housing five scolas—the Italian-Jewish name for synagogues—in a single building that had served as the ghetto synagogue was demolished, and the Jewish community started making plans for a brand-new, impressive structure.

Commemorative plates have been affixed to honor the local Jewish victims of Nazi Germany and an Abu Nidal Organization attack in 1982.

Design

Design walls and glass windows the Great Synagogue of Rome

The individuals then chose this eye-catching style because they wanted the structure to be a visible celebration of their freedom and seen from many locations within the city. As a result, the building is immediately recognizable, even from a distance, thanks to the aluminum dome, the only square dome in the city. In addition, the Synagogue’s interior is richly ornamented with Art Nouveau design.

What to Look Out for Inside the Great Synagogue of Rome?

The Jewish Museum of Rome

It would be best to dedicate at least an hour to the Museo Ebraico di Roma when visiting the Great Synagogue of Rome to examine the museum. The collection’s exquisite organization takes visitors on a tour of the history of the Jews in Italy, from their arrival in Ostia in the second century BC until the present.

what's inside the Great Synagogue of Rome

The collection on display at the Jewish Museum is simply outstanding. Its walls’ decoration includes historical decrees, liturgical objects, incunabula, and marble sculptures that detail the intriguing social history of the Jews in Rome and their struggle to maintain their identity despite the papacy.

Nearby Attractions

Theater of Marcellus
3 min 430 ft 130 m
Jewish Ghetto
3 min 490 ft 150 m
Tiber Island
3 min 560 ft 170 m
Turtle Fountain
4 min 720 ft 220 m
Crypta Balbi
6 min 1050 ft 320 m
Cat Sanctuary Ruins
7 min 1180 ft 360 m
Capitoline Square
8 min 1310 ft 400 m
Capitoline Hill
8 min 1310 ft 400 m
Fountain of the Goddess Roma
9 min 1410 ft 430 m
Church of the Gesù
9 min 1510 ft 460 m

Author: Kate Zusmann

Kate Zusmann

I have lived in the Eternal City for the past 12 years. They say every angle of Rome has its history, and I'm here to tell you about the most intriguing historical facts and city legends. :)

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About us ROME.US Authors Kate Zusmann and Artur Jakucewicz
2025.We're Kate and Artur, a duo bound by our shared fascination with the Eternal City – Rome. Our paths, driven by a mutual passion for its timeless stories and architectural marvels, converged in a way we had never imagined.

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