This museum is housed in the Old Synagogue, which dates to the 15th century. The prayer hall, complete with a reconstructed bimah (raised platform at the centre where the Torah is read) and the original aron kodesh (the niche in the eastern wall where Torah scrolls are kept), houses an exhibition of liturgical objects. Upstairs there’s a photographic exhibit.
The Old Synagogue is the oldest Jewish house of worship in the country. Damaged by fire in 1557, it was reconstructed in Renaissance style by the Italian architect Matteo Gucci. It was plundered and partly destroyed by the Nazis but later restored.
