The Ghetto & Great Synagogue Walk
Rome, Italy
This walk traces the history of Rome’s Jewish community, one of Europe’s oldest continuously inhabited Jewish neighborhoods, from its ancient roots to life in the Roman Ghetto and eventual emancipation. Starting at Chiesa di San Gregorio della Divina Pietà and passing the Portico di Ottavia, old ghetto streets, and the Great Synagogue of Rome, it follows a community shaped by the Tiber, papal restriction, and repeated floods. Along the way, you also see layers of classical and later Rome, including the Theatre of Marcellus, Tiber Island, and Piazza Navona.
The stops
- 01 Chiesa di San Gregorio della Divina Pietà (Church of Saint Gregory of the Divine Mercy)
A stark witness to the era when the papacy compelled Jews to hear sermons aimed at conversion, making this church a crucial stop for understanding papal confinement in place.
- 02 Portico di Ottavia
A foundational stop for the story of Rome's 2000-year Jewish community, since the area around the portico became the heart of the Jewish quarter and still carries the memory of ancient, medieval, and modern Jewish life.
- 03 Settimio Calò
This likely commemorative stop sits in the historic Jewish neighborhood and helps anchor the layered memory of Roman Jewish life in the old ghetto area.
- 04 Piazza Mattei
A compact historic square inside the Jewish quarter, where aristocratic Rome, the old ghetto, and everyday neighborhood life meet in a single urban scene.
- 05 Il Tempio C / Temple C
The Temple of Fortuna Huiusce Diei, often labeled Temple C, is a Roman Republican temple in the Area Sacra of Largo di Torre Argentina. It is one of the four temple ruins preserved at the site.
- 06 Pilastro dello Stadio di Domiziano / Pillar of the Stadium of Domitian
The Pillar of the Stadium of Domitian is a surviving ancient Roman ruin marking part of the structure of Domitian’s stadium, beneath modern Piazza Navona.
- 07 Museo di Scultura Antica Giovanni Barracco
Housed in a palazzo near the Tiber, the museum's classical collections deepen the conversation between ancient Rome and the neighborhoods shaped by later communities along the river.
- 08 Lungotevere de' Cenci
This riverfront edge shows how the Tiber shaped the Jewish quarter, its boundaries, floods, and daily access to bridges, markets, and the island hospital.
- 09 Great Synagogue of Rome
The defining symbol of Rome's Jewish continuity, built after emancipation but rooted in a community whose presence in the city spans two millennia.
The narration at every stop is in the app — this is the map of where it takes you, with a line on each stop.
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Walk The Ghetto & Great Synagogue Walk with a voice in your ear.
Download Odyssey Guide on iPhone to start this walk.
Download on the App StoreiPhone · iOS 16 and later