The Jewish museum in Italy founded and run by non-Jews

In a time when Jews around the world are feeling very unloved, the Italian city of Lecce provides a paradoxical source of comfort.

On one hand, there are no Jews left. Zero. They were driven out in the 15th century and did not return. Yet their presence in this beautiful centre of southern Puglia remains alive and visible thanks to a fascinating Jewish museum that was founded and is run by non-Jews from the city.

The Jewish Medieval Museum of Lecce is the passion project of a local tourist agency owner, Michelangelo Mazzotta, who bought a house in the Via della Sinagoga in 2009. The name of the street intrigued Mazzotta, prompting him to start researching the history of the precinct. After discovering that his new house was located in the old Giudecca (Medieval Jewish district), Mazzotta decided to deepen his involvement with the city’s Jewish past.

Together with his daughter, and a pair of friends, Mazzotta rented part of a building in the old Giudecca and converted its underground area into a museum to preserve and showcase the forgotten Jewish history of medieval Lecce to the hordes of tourists who now flock to Puglia every summer to enjoy its stunning beaches, food and fashion.