European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Same time develop ties to the outside Quot a is proudly identified themselves with the City and contributed to the creation of the myth that enveloped it Quot. Writes Calimano. Quot Venice needed the jews their work their trades. Five synagogues were constructed in the ghetto s first 100 years. Built on the. Upper floors of existing structures above shops and apartments they were richly decorated inside but virtually unrecognizable from the Street except for their traditional rows of tall arched windows and Lovely cupolas. One theory says the synagogues were intentionally camouflaged. But Susanna Scarpa a guide in the Hetto says that they were built on the upper floors Quot to be nearer to  in 1797, after Napoleon conquered the venetian Republic he had the ghetto s Gates torn Down. Many jews continued to live there although the population began a steady decline. After the Veneto Region was annexed by the kingdom of Italy in 1866, jews achieved full Equality and their lives became much like those of other italians. ? for a few pre world War ii years _ italian jews escaped the brutal hatred and persecution found in Germany. Quot it was t until the infamous Laws on race were introduced in 1938 that we even Learned that some of our schoolmates were jewish Quot recalls Alvise Zorzi a historian who grew up in Venice. The atmosphere deteriorated As relations Between Hitler and Mussolini became closer and deportations began after Germany occupied Italy in 1943. By War s end some 7,500 italian jews had been killed in Gas Chambers and massacres including More than 200 from Venice. Today the ghetto looks much As it did four centuries ago although it has become a quiet Low rent neighbourhood populated almost entirely by non jews the synagogues have been restored. Rusty hinges from an old Gate can still be seen at one Entrance As can a Stone plaque listing the rules of ghetto jiving. Like the general population of Venice the number of the City s jews has dropped sharply a to about 540, says Jona most live on the Mainland in a a integrated neighbourhoods. Sabbath and High holy Day services �4r\d other religious events Are held in two of the original synagogues the Spanish and levantine. The former ghetto area also houses a Community Center a Library and a rest Home with a Kosher Kitchen. A museum filled with artefacts of jewish life attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year. Quot we intend to generate new activity in these places of precious memory Quot says Jona Quot the grandeur of the past shall be a spurt or the  a David Mazie is a Iree Lance writer who lives in a _ Washington. A a visitor to the ghetto crosses a Bridge that spans one of the City s Many canals. 4-1 or a a amps Filea amps file. A visitor examines Bas reliefs above. Tall arched windows typify synagogues in a Venice right. A couple walk across one of the ghetto s squares left. A amps fils David Maile Dober 6, 1994 stripes Magazine 9