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Hello all! I have been doing some digging into my family tree, and have discovered that I am at least partially descended from Jews from the city of Venice in northeastern Italy. After much research, I concluded they were members of the Ashkenazi community there, who probably worshipped at the Scuola Canton.
Historically, Jews in Venice were divided into three categories: the Ashkenazim, who were the first to settle in the city in medieval times (and were the originators of the German-derrived word "ghetto"), the Sephardim, who settled in Venice post 1492 following their expulsion Spain (in this group were also the "Levantine" Jews, who arrived in Venice via the Ottoman Empire), and the native Italkim, from Rome and the south. Traditionally, these groups remained separate, with intermarriage being uncommon. The plurality of Jewish culture there is attested to by the fact that there were many separate synagogues. In addition to the two Sephardic and one Italkic synagogue, there were no fewer than eight Ashkenazic synagogues at one point.
My DNA would seem to confirm my research: I show up in MO as 35% Ashkenazi Diaspora, 60% European, and 3% Western Middle Eastern. This corresponds to the paper trail the indicates that three of my great grandparents were Jewish.
I am however curious about what other Italian Jews might score here. I have a theory that the genetics gets progressively less "Ashkenazic" and more "Sephardic/Italkic" the further south and west one gets on the peninsula. The communities in the northeast I feel are probably the most German-derrived, especially those from Gorizia, Ceneda, and Trieste. Rome, however, is almost certainly almost all Italkim, and I wonder what their 23andme results might look like. Ditto the south and Sicily.
If there are any Italian Jews out there, please come forward and share your story!
Historically, Jews in Venice were divided into three categories: the Ashkenazim, who were the first to settle in the city in medieval times (and were the originators of the German-derrived word "ghetto"), the Sephardim, who settled in Venice post 1492 following their expulsion Spain (in this group were also the "Levantine" Jews, who arrived in Venice via the Ottoman Empire), and the native Italkim, from Rome and the south. Traditionally, these groups remained separate, with intermarriage being uncommon. The plurality of Jewish culture there is attested to by the fact that there were many separate synagogues. In addition to the two Sephardic and one Italkic synagogue, there were no fewer than eight Ashkenazic synagogues at one point.
My DNA would seem to confirm my research: I show up in MO as 35% Ashkenazi Diaspora, 60% European, and 3% Western Middle Eastern. This corresponds to the paper trail the indicates that three of my great grandparents were Jewish.
I am however curious about what other Italian Jews might score here. I have a theory that the genetics gets progressively less "Ashkenazic" and more "Sephardic/Italkic" the further south and west one gets on the peninsula. The communities in the northeast I feel are probably the most German-derrived, especially those from Gorizia, Ceneda, and Trieste. Rome, however, is almost certainly almost all Italkim, and I wonder what their 23andme results might look like. Ditto the south and Sicily.
If there are any Italian Jews out there, please come forward and share your story!
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