November 23, 2005
Rome’s re-designed and expanded Jewish museum has been inaugurated with a high-profile ceremony. The city's mayor, Italy’s culture minister and the presidents of the Lazio region and Rome province attended Tuesday’s ceremony. The museum, located in a complex also housing Rome’s main synagogue, originally opened in 1959 as a display of synagogue textiles and ritual objects. It has been revamped and expanded to tell the 2,000-plus-year history of Jews in Italy as well as to showcase precious Judaica. Financing came from the European Union and private sources as well as from Italian state, city and regional authorities. About 65,000 people visited the museum last year.
