Great Synagogue of Rome
synagogue
The Great Synagogue of Rome (Italian: Tempio Maggiore di Roma) is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, that is located at Lungotevere de' Cenci, in Rome, in Lazio, Italy. Designed by Vincenzo Costa and Osvaldo Armanni in an eclectic mix of Historicism and Art Nouveau styles, the synagogue was completed in 1904. It is the largest synagogue in Rome.
The Jewish Museum of Rome is located inside the synagogue.
History
The Jewish community of Rome dates from the 2nd century B.C when the Roman Republic had an alliance of sorts with Judea under the leadership of Judah Maccabeus. At that time, many Jews came to Rome from Judea. Their numbers increased during the following centuries due to the settlement that came with Mediterranean trade. Then large numbers of Jews were brought to Rome as slaves following the Jewish–Roman wars in Judea from 63 to 135 CE.
The present synagogue was constructed shortly after the unification of Italy in 1870, when the Kingdom of Italy captured Rome and the Papal States ceased to exist. The Roman Ghetto was demolished and the Jews were granted citizenship. The building which had previously housed the ghetto synagogue (a complicated structure housing five scolas (the Italian-Jewish term for synagogues) in a single building was demolished, and the Judahite community began making plans for a new and impressive building.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Great Synagogue of Rome” is synagogue. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Great, Synagogue and Rome, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “synagogue” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The citation trail is more important than the brevity of the summary: it shows where individual claims can be examined in context. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1548485. VIAF identifies the subject as 258949852. Authority coordinates are 41.892, 12.478. 3 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1904 and 1870.
A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Great Synagogue of Rome”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Great Synagogue of Rome primary sources, Great Synagogue of Rome archive and Great research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Great Synagogue of Rome”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Great Synagogue of Rome” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.