The Jewish Museum of Rome in New York
The Arch of Titus and the Jewish Museum of Rome in New York
New York, NY – August 3, 2017 – On September 14th the exhibition The Arch of Titus – from Jerusalem to Rome, and Back and the Rome Lab, a learning space of the Jewish Museum of Rome will open to the public at the Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, NYC. Visiting hours: Sunday, 11:00am – 5:00pm. Monday and Wednesday, 9:30am – 8:00pm. Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30am – 5:00pm. Friday: 9:30am – 4:00pm. Admission for the exhibition $8 for adults and $6 for seniors and students. The Rome Lab and programs are free.
Beginning with a life-size replica of the Arch’s Spoils of Jerusalem relief panel, the exhibition The Arch of Titus – from Jerusalem to Rome, and Back, curated by Steven Fine (other curators) and presented by the Yeshiva University Museum, traces the ways that Romans and Jews in antiquity, and Christians and Jews in subsequent centuries interpreted this most central icon of Western culture. From the original appearance and imperial context of the Arch to the re-casting of the Arch within Christian Rome and modern Europe, and the Arch as symbol of loss, longing and political consciousness, culminating in the use of the Arch menorah as a symbol of the modern State of Israel.
In conversation with the exhibition, the Jewish Museum of Rome and Centro Primo Levi present the Rome Lab, a learning space dedicated to Roman Jews, to the formative centuries of Western Judaism and the twenty-two centuries long relationship between Rome and Jerusalem. The Rome Lab, spearheaded by Alessandra Di Castro, director of the JMR and Natalia Indrimi, director of CPL, is a dreamlike space that collapses spatial and temporal coordinates around three symbolic physical places: the Jewish quarter, the Jewish Museum and the Synagogue. The audiovisual installations are curated by Alessandro Cassin with video mapping by Valerio Ciriaci and Isaak Liptzin and photographs by Araldo De Luca.
It is the first time that an Italian museum has a pop-up presence in New York and inhabits it with its community, mindset and imagination.
Through January 2018, the general public, students, and scholars are welcome to visit the exhibition and the lab, and participate in the conversations. All programs are free. Full program at www.primolevicenter.org
The Rome Lab is held in collaboration with Yeshiva University Museum, NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, Università di Roma La Sapienza, Italian Cultural Institute, Foundation for Jewish Cultural Heritage in Italy, American Sephardi Federation, Center for Jewish History.
The Rome Lab is made possibile by generous support from the Viterbi Family, the Cahnman Foundation, the Italian Tourism Board ENIT, Peter S. Kalikow, Claude Ghez, the Slovin Family Foundation, the David Berg Foundation, and Lice Ghilardi.
Listing information
Event: The Arch of Titus and the Jewish Museum of Rome in New York
Where: Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16 Street, NY, NY 10011
When: September 14 – January 14 2018
Hours: Sunday, 11:00am – 5:00pm. Monday and Wednesday, 9:30am – 8:00pm. Tuesday and Thursday, 9:30am – 5:00pm. Friday: 9:30am – 4:00pm.
Brief description – Exhibition and programs on the Arch as symbol of continuity and rupture in the history of the Jewish people, the Jews of Rome and the twenty-two century relation between Rome and Jerusalem. Weekly program calendar at www.primolevicenter.org.
Additional info: www.yumuseum.org – www.cjh.org
Admission: Exhibition $8 and $6 for seniors and students. All programs are free, reservation at romelab@primolevicenter.org
THE ROME LAB CALENDAR
Reservations: romelab@primolevicenter.org
Tickets: free
Additional info: www.primolevicenter.org
September 14 – 6:30 pm
Singing Sacred Text. Rav Alberto Funaro.
Yes, these are the High Holidays’ melodies of the oldest Jewish community in the Western world. Would you like to sing them too?
October 18 – 6:30 pm
A Tale of Two Cities: Rome and Jerusalem. Paula Fredriksen, Boston University
Everyone knows that Rome destroyed Jerusalem in the year 70. But did you know how much Rome contributed to building it?
October 19 – 6:30 pm
Minority, Religion and Roman Law, Alessandro Saggioro, University of Rome La Sapienza, Seth Schwarz, Columbia University. Did the Jews become a minority when the Romans became Christian?
October 22 – 6:30 pm
Frivolous, Ironic and Erotic Like the Bible: The Poetry of Immanuel da Roma. Ann Brener, Library of Congress, Isabelle Levy, Columbia University.
Did Yosef Caro really ban from Jewish life Immanuel Romano’s poetry?
October 23 and 25 – 6:30 pm
“Io so’ jodìo romano”: Notes on the Jewish-Roman Dialect. Daniel Leisawitz, Muhlenberg College. What language did the Jews of Rome speak before Judeo-Roman?
October 26 – 6:30 pm
The Temple in Renaissance Imagination. Giuseppe Veltri, University of Hamburg.
Which Temple did they long for and why?
November 2 – 6:30 pm
Another Tale of Two Cities: Jerusalem and Yavneh, Amram Tropper, Ben Gurion University; The Symbolic Power of Rome: From Palestine to Babylonia, Ron Naiweld, French, National Centre for Scientific Research – Moderator: Shai Secunda, Bard College.
November 5 – 6:30 pm
Rome and the Jews at the Times of the Ghetto, Serena Di Nepi, University of Rome La Sapienza
November 6 – 6:00 pm
Film screening and conversation with the authors. Diaspora. Every End is a Beginning. by Luigi Faccini and Marina Piperno. This session will take place at NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò, 24 W 12 St.
November 8-9 – 6:30 pm
Rav Amedeo Spagnoletto, Collegio Rabbinico Italiano
A multi-session workshop on the art of the scribe and the Roman rabbinical tradition.
- To be a scribe in Italy: A Century Old Legacy
- Traditions of Roman Jews: Life and Religion
- Rome in the Talmud and in the Rabbinical Literature
November 12 – 6:30 pm
Dressing the Sacred Text: Mappòt, Me’ilim and Parochyot in the Synagogues of Rome.
Alessandra Di Castro, Jewish Museum of Rome, Serena Di Nepi, University of Rome La Sapienza, Rav Amedeo Spagnoletto, Collegio Rabbinico Italiano
November 15 – 6:30 pm
The City of Rome as Storehouse of Jewish Artifacts. Ra’anan Boustan, Princeton University
November 16 – 6:30 pm
Roman Travelers in Eretz Israel, Asher Salah, Bezalel Academy
November 20 – 6:30 pm
The Knight and His Jewish Readers: Orlando Furioso, Michela Andreatta, University of Rochester, Serena Di Nepi, University of Rome La Sapienza, Jane Tylus, New York University.
November 19 – 6:30 pm
Giuseppe Valadier’s Restoration of the Arch of Titus, Marina Caffiero, University of Rome La Sapienza
November 21 – 6:00 pm
The Italian Cultural Institute, 686 Park Avenue
The Ceremony of the Papal Adventus, the Jews and other Roman Scolae, Marina Caffiero, University of Rome La Sapienza
About YUM
Yeshiva University Museum is the Jewish art and cultural history museum of Yeshiva University. It exhibits, interprets, researches, collects and preserves artifacts that represent the cultural, intellectual, and artistic achievements of more than 3,000 years of Jewish experience. The Museum is a creative and vital force in the intellectual and educational life of Yeshiva University through the scholarly and cultural opportunities it affords its students and faculty. The Museum also teaches schoolchildren and adults through interdisciplinary exhibitions and programs aimed at the University community and diverse public audiences. Additional information at www.yumuseum.org
About the Museo Ebraico di Roma
The Museo Ebraico di Roma (Jewish Museum of Rome) is housed in a beautiful vaulted ceiling space under the Tempio Maggiore and is a rare example of museum whose holdings are used by the community and represent its history and traditions. Featuring a collection of judaica and textiles unparalleled for historical breath —from antiquity to the 20th century— and artistic value, as well an important library of printed books, manuscripts and incunabola, the Museo Ebraico di Roma receives thousands of visitors every month and is home to a vibrant intellectual forum.
In summer 2017 the MER has cop resented with the Vatican Museum the exhibition The Menorah, History, Myth and Worship. It is the first collaboration ever of a Jewish Museum with the Vatican.
About CPL
Centro Primo Levi is a New York based organization inspired by the humanistic legacy of writer, chemist and Auschwitz survivor Primo Levi. The Center offers public and academic programs and publications on the history of Italian Jews and Judaism. Its main focus on 20th century totalitarianism expands to a history of over two thousand years in an ongoing effort to present the experience and perspective of a minority and its relation with mainstream culture in ancient and modern societies.
About the Center for Jewish History
The Center for Jewish History in New York City illuminates history, culture, and heritage. The Center provides a collaborative home for five partner organizations; the partners’ archives comprise the world’s largest and most comprehensive archive of the modern Jewish experience outside of Israel. The collections span a thousand years, with archival documents and books, as well as thousands of artworks, textiles, ritual objects, recordings, films, and photographs. The Center’s experts are leaders in unlocking archival material for a wide audience through the latest practices in digitization, library science, and public education.
Press contact: drosenberg@cjh.org, (212) 294-8301 x1096
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