Jews have lived in Sicily since Roman times (before the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, AD 70). These were for a large part slaves. During 200 years of Arab rule, there was basically freedom of religion, persecution of Jews became severe later, after the island was Catholic again, around 1210. Over the centuries, various laws were introduced; that the Jews should have a mark (red wheel) on their clothes, that they should have nothing to do with Catholics, they should live in certain areas of the cities (ghettos), forced participation in Christmas celebrations, etc.
Sicily came under Spanish rule in 1298. After this the persecutions got worse. Grenada, as the last region in Spain, freed itself from Muslim rule in 1492. King Ferdinand II of Aragon, but above all Queen Isabella I of Castile, insisted that the spanish population should be Catholic, and only Catholic. On March 31st, 1492, they issued an edict, ‘The Alhambra Decree‘, which gave all Jews (later also Muslims) a deadline to either convert to Christianity or leave the country – by July 31st the same year. As part of the Kingdom of Aragon, this also came to apply to Sicily. The number of Jews in Sicily was around 35,000 at the time. The only thing they were allowed to take with them was one set of changing clothes, a mattress and a set of bed linen. All other assets were confiscated, and they were not allowed to take neither gold nor other valuables out of the country.
Of Sicily’s Jews, about 25,000 moved to mainland Italy or the Ottoman Empire, where they were well received, while about 9,000 converted to Christianity in order to stay. As converts, they were highly suspected, they were nicknamed crypto-Jews (partly rightly so, since some continued to practice Judaism in secret), and many fell victim to the Inquisition. However, children of converted Jews were not persecuted by the Inquisition (as long as they were not baptized), and these could in principle grow up to become Jews again (with the risk of pogroms instead).
The purification ceremony is for orthodox Judaism so important that they have to construct the mikveh before the synagogue. There are many requirements for a Jewish ritual bath. The water must come to the bath by itself (from a source) and not by the use of pumps or movement made by people or via a tank. The pool must be so large that a person can be completely covered by water. Before entering the bath, you have to be clean and naked. Ritual baths must take place before all holidays including the Sabbath, and for women also after menstruation and childbirth.
When renovating a private house in Siracusa in the 1980’s, the owner came across a vault that was a bit strange. This was opened, and after removing a few hundred loads of sand and gravel, a large mikveh was found 8 meters below ground. The water is clean and clear, and the whole room has been carved directly out of the rock with axes – a very beautiful bathroom with vaults. Awesome!
Just outside the hotel, however, you find the sea, so a bath can easily be done. The access made by the municipality was also made in the simplest way – using scaffolding material!
When there is a lot of wind, it is easy to hurt yourself if you do not use the stairs. We saved this bath until one day the wind was weak, and we had a very nice swim.
