Inside the Effort to Restore Synagogues in Venice’s 500-Year-Old Jewish Ghetto – A new project focuses on three 16th-century synagogues in the Italian city, where the Jewish population has dropped to 450

June 2022 –  When art historian David Landau first visited Venice’s Renaissance synagogues after purchasing a home in the Italian city 12 years ago, he was stunned to see flaking layers of paint, benches infiltrated by woodworms, and damaged plaster and stucco decorations. The Italian Synagogue was in such disrepair, in fact, that it wasn’t included on the Jewish Museum of Venice’s tour of the local Jewish Ghetto, according to the nonprofit Save Venice Inc.