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Accessible Rome - Jewish Ghetto and Synagogue

Mary Murphy-Hanson

Accessible Rome: Getting around Rome in a wheelchair, for the disabled traveler. Read Wheelchair Travel for some basic information.

The ghetto itself has been occupied for over 2000 years. Many people feel that the only true Romans left are the Jews of the ghetto. Most of the ghetto streets are very accessible. There is minimal traffic so you can use the roadway where sidewalks don't exist. Unfortunately, the Synagogue is not accessible to the wheelchair traveler.

Map of Ghetto, Rome © Touring Club Italiano, Milano
wheelchair route on sidewalk in yellow, on street in orange
click for larger version

The Ghetto map shows how to access the ghetto from the Pantheon or the Capitoline Museums.

Approaching from the Capitoline Museums

As you come through the ruins at Theater of Marcellus you have two options. A turn to the right takes you to the ancient Roman fish market where you can see the stone tables with the markings for fish length and price. If you turn to the left as you exit the market look up on the wall. There is a plaque commemorating the Roman victims of the holocaust. In October 1943 several hundred Jews and some Roman citizens were rounded up by the Gestapo and shipped to the concentration camps.

A turn to the left takes you to the synagogue. Continuing in a southwesterly direction you come upon the largest Jewish synagogue in Europe. Jews were residents of Rome from before Caesar's time as slaves, traders and some eventually became citizens.

The front of the synagogue has a number of steps. There is a ramp that will allow you to access the museum. However the pathway to the ramp is about 1/2 a block long and is covered in 5-6 inches of extremely soft gravel making the synagogue and museum inaccessible.

Mary on a sidewalk in the Ghetto

Resources

Slow Travel Photos - Accessible Rome: Photo essay to go with these pages.

Mary Hanson is a wheelchair traveler with four months experience navigating Rome in a wheelchair. When she isn't visiting her heart in Rome, she resides in Phoenix with her husband Tom and her mutt Beau-dog.

Accessible Rome

Borghese Park/Museums

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