 Jews have been living in Le Marche for more than one thousand years. At least thirty Jewish communities settled down in this region as a result of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain and Portugal in the fifteenth century, when refugees fled those countries and flocked to Italy. In 1447 the Vatican introduced the ghetto concept, isolating Jews in a small area near the city centres.The Urbino Synagogue, is an anonymous building, like most of the synagogues in Le Marche, dating back to 1633, the same year its ghetto was established. It houses some precious features, such as the Torah Ark, a replica of the original 15th century one, now exhibited at the New York's Jewish Museum. The Sephardic synagogue in Pesaro , built in 1642, is an impressive example of the Baroque in Jewish architecture. In the same building facing south-east, towards Jerusalem, there used to be a Jewish school, a nursery school , and the Yeshiva of Cabala studies. The Senigallia synagogue was built in 1634 by a proud Jewish community that lived in the town, it has elegant furniture which included a Torah Ark and a bimah designed in Italian Baroque style, both unique in their monumental dimensions, which were taken to Israel in the 1960s and are now part of the Museum collection.
In the Middle Ages, Ancona's Jewish population was second only to Rome's in size and its port was a magnet for Jewish merchants. Every year a fascinating Klezmer Music Festival is held in the city, with great Jewish performers on the stage and delicious food served in the streets. Ancona's synagogue can be found in Via Astagno, a narrow, steeply rising street in the heart of the local Jewish ghetto; it features two sanctuaries in one building, each with a magnificently carved baroque ark and fine ritual objects. A stucco-framed inscription on the wall of the ground floor entrance corridor greets visitors with these words:
Man of Israel, may your heart be filled with awe as you enter.
Lower your head before this holy place
And note well the spark of the divine that rests upon it.
Each morning rise with the sun
And pour out prayer and praise to the Lord.
Then he will bless you and sustain you
And fulfill all your wishes.
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