Florentine Ghetto
[5] Giovanni Medici, along with his son Cosimo the Elder and grandson Piero the Gouty, rose in society from simple shopkeepers up to international bankers.
Many people who follow Western Christian ideals have been led to believe that the Jews were moved into a ghetto specifically in this area because the land had been known as having been previously inhabited by prostitutes and whores.
[9] Because the Ghetto is seen as more of a business venture than anything else, it was built less through a natural process of economic shifts and changes in demographics and more through the Jews dire need to relocate after the fall of other Medici settlements.
Cosimo I of the Medici, who was mainly responsible for the Ghetto's construction, emphasized the importance of the Jews working with the commerce within their own enclosed area while still remaining inconspicuous to those who were not living there.
For example, a Jewish banker named Prospero Marino requested and petitioned to wear the yellow cap by claiming that it hindered the success of his business activities.
For the majority of Jews in the Florentine Ghetto who were forced into wearing this segno, ("sign" or "mark"), soon approached a multitude of difficulties when it came to establishing themselves in the world of commerce because of how hesitant non-Jews were to implementing business relationships with them.
[16] Although the Ghetto as a physical entity within the city of Florence was blocked off by gates, this did not originally deter Christians and Jews from intermingling for social or economic purposes.
[19] Within the Ghetto, only a limited number of men were given the freedom to represent themselves in the political sphere, by attending meetings, being allowed to vote, and being given the ability to hold positions in office.
[24] Despite Jews in the Ghetto having high ambitions for their employment opportunities, (and be qualified for these positions), they often found it difficult to succeed in becoming anything other than just a merchant or trader because of their religious affiliation.
The courtyard in question is very small, measuring roughly 4 braccia [7.65 feet], and they set out tables there, so there is much insolence from drunken and impertinent people and much scandalous behavior".
In terms of its physical appearance, the synagogue was extremely plain and inconspicuous, which was considered a stark contrast to the lavishly decorated churches that the Christians living just outside the Ghetto were used to.
Because of its central location within the Ghetto, the synagogue also acted as a pseudo "town hall", where laws were formed, bids on properties were made, leaders were elected, and other official businesses were conducted.
[30] The Jews that lived in the Florentine Ghetto were restricted to the jobs that they could uphold, which in turn immensely affected their abilities to succeed in breaking the lower-middle class barriers that were in place for them.
As a result of its location, the Ghetto became "an integral part of the city's shopping district - or so it seemed to the Christian bargain hunters who dropped in during business hours to buy things on the cheap.
This action led to protests of Jews living in the Ghetto, who were apprehensive about their only source of protection for the schools, shops, and homes no longer being enforced.
In the Jewish Council's memorandum on the issue, it mentioned that "though it was the need to cut expenses, including the doorkeeper's salary, they also claimed the Jews' right to abandon a custom that recalled periods of humiliation and shame."
Literary scholar Stefanie B. Siegmund described the impact of the Ghetto as "an event which both symbolically and quite literally shifted and redefined the boundaries between Jews and Christians".
"The birth of the ghetto as a place of enforced habitation, one of the aberrations of the modern era, paradoxically was also a catalyst for the development of Jewish ceremonial art in Italy".
