The unassuming location of this magnificent piece of 15th century Jewish history is what makes a visit here even more enchanting. This ‘time capsule’ located in a small street in Ortigia, the Siracusa peninsula, on the eastern side of the island, Via (Gian Battista) Alagona which runs parallel to the bigger road of Via Nizza is home to the ‘mikve’ Jewish baths lay firmly approximately 20 meters below street level. You could walk past the building and even avoid the small side street but there is an enticing charm that will surely lure you to the mikve as some point on your holiday or day trip to Ortigia, being a small enough island to walk both in and around.
The building was abandoned during the Spanish Inquisition whereby the thriving community of Jews fled the island. Now a hotel and museum this property is a unique place having been hidden for hundreds of years and was only rediscovered in the 1980’s as a place of extremely historical importance.
Miqweh meaning a pool of natural water used for the religious purposes of cleansing, and in the Jewish community was a requirement of women to bath once a month as part of maintaining family purity. This purification according to Jewish law was widespread in the hebrew speaking communities of Siracusa.
Guidecca is the name of the area in Ortigia - a quarter known for being home to the 5000 once strong Jewish community that thrived on the Sicilian island. The baths are one of many hidden underground places of historical interest in Ortigia, and this Jewish Bath is a medieval ritual bathing site that is only one of a few that can be found in Europe.
Tours are offered (in Italian and English) to learn about the history of the Sicilian Jewish Community in Siracusa and also the importance of the baths in general as part of ritualistic practices. You will head down small and uneven steps underground to reach the stone walled chamber where the bathing area lays and offers a very alternative historical perspective to Siracusa that is Catholic predominant.
LOCATION
51 Via G.B. Alagona, Ortigia, Siracusa, Sicily, Italy, 96100
PHONE
(Italy) +39 0931 21467
For more information and booking a visit please do ask our reception team for further assistance. The baths are located just a 5 minute walk from the Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel
Algilà Ortigia Charme Hotel 4 Star Superior
Address 93 Via Vittorio Veneto I-96100 Siracusa, Italy
Phone (Italy) +39 0931 465186
E-mail algila@algila.it