As a result of agreement between the Jewish community and the city authorities the Roman Ghetto was demolished towards the end of the 19th century.

[2][3] Also, in 1875, the city embarked on an ambitious programme to build up embankments along the River Tiber to provide protection from flooding, including of the area formerly occupied by the ghetto.

Support for the new museum and its collection was provided by the European Union, the Italian and Lazio governments, and the city of Rome, as well as by private donations, including from Alcatel.

This goes back to the time of Judas Maccabeus who, in the mid-2nd century BCE, petitioned Rome for help in opposing the Hellenistic Kings to restore Jewish worship in Jerusalem.

In 63 BCE, Judea was conquered by Pompey and in 70 CE it was annexed to the Roman Empire by Vespasian and Titus after the First Jewish–Roman War.

The museum provides interesting illustrations of changes after Italian Unification in 1870 to the area occupied by the Ghetto, and traces the steps taken to develop the Great Synagogue.

In 1938, Mussolini and King Victor Emmanuel III, under the influence of Adolf Hitler, signed laws known as the “Defence of the Race”, which removed all civil rights from Jews in Italy and forced them to leave government posts.

Examples of receipts given to those who contributed, including non-Jews, are on display, together with files held on Jews in the SS Headquarters.

The museum records this, as well as the Ardeatine Massacre when Jews and others were murdered in retaliation for a resistance attack on German troops.

Exhibits in this section include coverage of the Jewish home, the kitchen, weddings and celebration of religious holidays.

This is a collection of marble carvings and engravings from between the 16th and 19th centuries, which contain important documentary evidence of the history of the Jewish Community in Rome.