Day 43: Remembrance

Day 43: Remembrance

One of Rome’s oldest neighborhoods and with arguably the most significant history, is known as the Roman or Jewish Ghetto.Just the name says it all. Luckily it’s not still a ghetto and while most of the neighborhood has been demolished, some of the most important landmarks remain, like Ottavia’s portico.I went here to paint on Saturday, excited that the sun was out. I’ve been waiting a long time to paint this view, I just love the seemingly randomly placed windows in this ancient wall with the shadow from the portico casting across these ramshackle buildings.

 

Morning Shadows, Portico di Ottavia 8×6″Oil on Panel© Kelly Medford SOLD

In the span of 4 blocks one is immediately transported back in time. While painting, one of these windows opened briefly. An old woman came to the window, blew her nose, threw her tissue out below to the Roman ruins and closed the window again. I must admit that I was a bit shocked to see someone throwing something down into the ruins. But then I got to thinking that this place is a living history where some people were born and have only known this their entire lives. Why would they treat this as sacred ground when it’s literally just their yard.

The history of the Roman Jews here is not a pretty one unfortunately as they were literally quarantined here for centuries. The Jews were only officially allowed to live outside of this neighborhood when the papal laws requiring it were abolished in 1882- now that’s only 130 years ago. Only yesterday inside the context of Roman history.There were several gates closing off the ghetto from the rest of the city- they started as 2 and grew to as many as 8 at one point. The gates were closed each evening and opened again in the morning at dawn. The residents were extremely crowded and were not allowed to own their homes or any property. They were also only permitted to practice certain unskilled professions. If they ever left the neighborhood during the day they had to wear what is now called the “yellow badge” to differentiate who they were and where they came from. Because of their isolation, still to this day the residents of the ghetto speak a Judeo-Roman dialect that romanizes Hebrew words and melds with a 16th century Roman dialect- from the time when the ghetto was established.

A  more unique place than this is hard to find even though the vast majority of its history was demolished with the walls that once surrounded it. To visit this place with its history in mind, it’s almost impossible to imagine what it was once like. We can see a little of the remnants in Ettore Franz‘s watercolors from his 19th century Roma Sparita series, but I still find it hard to picture. I’ve painted here several times before, most recently for a commission. It can be tricky to get a good view, but this gives you an idea of what the portico looks like and it’s breathtakingly beautiful.

 

 

 

 Portico di Ottavia, The Roman Jewish Ghetto ©Kelly Medford

 

and here is a close up oil sketch of just the portico

Portico di Ottavia, sketch © Kelly Medford