In an unusual and highly symbolic move, the city of Turin has formally returned an ornate Torah ark to the local Jewish community. The community had presented the ark to the city more than a century ago.
The gilded and carved wooden cabinet, probably dating from the early 18th century, is the oldest example of furnishings from the synagogues that once stood in Turin’s Jewish ghetto, which was established in 1679.
After Jews in the city were emancipated in 1848, they built a synagogue, still in use today. At the inauguration in 1884, the community donated the ark to the city as a sign of recognition and good faith following emancipation and the formation of a united Italian state. — jta