David Levi, a president of the Jewish community, bequeathed his estate after his death in 1870 to build a new synagogue.

In August 1944 retreating German troops worked with Italian Fascists to lay explosives to destroy the synagogue.

In addition, a nearby Jewish community in the Oltrarno area, south of the Arno river, dates to the Roman era.

[citation needed] The Great Synagogue of Florence has been widely admired and is a major tourist attraction.

The architects were Mariano Falcini [it], Professor Vincenzo Micheli [it], and Marco Treves, who was Jewish.

The central dome raised on pendentives is reminiscent of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, which was built as a Byzantine Empire church, and many mosques were inspired by it.

Inside the building "every square inch is covered with colored designs," in Moorish Revival patterns.