The Universal History devotes a whole section to the “Dispersion
of the Jews”. Below is a snapshot of communities in Italy. This might be
limited to Spanish and Portuguese, excluding the indigenous Italian Jews.
"The reader may further consult the last will of Zachariah a
Porto, a rich Jewish merchant of Urbino, that died at Florence, an. 1671, after
he had compiled a concordance on the comments of the thalmud, which he left at
his death to the rabbies at Rome, and his library to the academy of it. He bequeathed
moreover 24,000 piastres to his nation; one-fourth part of which he divided
between the academies of Leghorn, Venice, Jerusalem, and of the Holy Land. The
other 18,000 piastres were to be distributed to serve for dowry to the Jewish
daughters of the synagogues of Rome, Ferrara, Ancona, Urbino which was his
native place, Pesaro, Cesano, Venice, Padua, Verona, Rovigo, Florence, Siena,
Pisa, Leghorn, Mantua, Modena, and Reggio; which shews how numberous they are
still in Italy."
The
modern part of an universal history. 1759. Page 409
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