THE TELEGRAPH
Venice appeals to wealthy celebrities for funds to restore its historic Ghetto area
by Nick Squires
December 9, 2015

Venice is appealing to the worlds of fashion and show business for funds to restore its historic Ghetto, nearly 500 years after Jews were first compelled to live there.  The Venetian Heritage Council, a non-profit organisation headed by Diane von Furstenberg, the fashion designer, is appealing to celebrities to stump up millions of pounds to restore the Ghetto’s five centuries-old synagogues and its Jewish museum, the Museo Ebrico. The appeal comes as Venice prepares to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the establishment of the Ghetto by the city’s doges, or rulers. It was on March 29, 1516, that “La Serenissima”, as the Venetian republic was known, ordered its Jewish population to move to the Ghetto, which has since become synonymous around the world with places where Jews were constrained to live. READ MORE