Jews & the Inquisition in Italy

Not Just the Tudors

Between 1598 and 1785, the Papal or Roman Inquisition in Modena, Northern Italy, put 393 Jews on trial. Regarded as infidels, Jews were accused of, among other things, blasphemy, employing a Christian servant, owning prohibited books, and having sex with Christians. But the trials belie a somewhat different picture - one in which, in many cases, Jews and Christians co-existed happily together in Modena.

In this episode of Not Just the Tudors, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb finds out more from Professor Katherine Aron-Beller, about the real lives of the Jews who stood before the inquisition in Italy.

This episode was edited and produced by Rob Weinberg.

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