The Jewish Ghetto and Portico of Octavia

Rome's Jewish community is among the oldest in Europe, present in the city since the 2nd century BC. The ghetto was established by Pope Paul IV in 1555 and its walls were torn down after 1870. Today, between the Augustan Portico of Octavia and the Great Synagogue (1904), it is a lively district rich in history.

Did you know: This is the place to taste carciofi alla giudia — artichokes fried whole until they open like golden flowers, a symbol of Roman-Jewish cooking.

✦ The legend: Of the Turtle Fountain, just beyond the Portico d'Ottavia, it is said that Duke Mattei had it built in a single night to show his future father-in-law — who was refusing him his daughter after he had gambled everything away — what he was still capable of. The next morning he showed the fountain from the window, won his bride, and had that window walled up for good.