«Io come madre cercava ogni strada». Una madre ebrea e un figlio nei guai nella Roma del Cinquecento

Abstract

In the Counter Reformation Rome Jewish mother is trying to have her son sent free from the prison. He has been found guilty of many crimes, mainly sexual crimes and he will be most likely sentenced to the galere where the hard conditions would probably kill him. His mother goes around the town,out of the ghetto where Jews are forced to live, looking for help in the attempt to liberate him. The records of the trial report two different voices: the mother’s and the Christian mediator’s telling two different versions of the story. According to the mother, she has paid him a sum coming from her dowry for his help, according to the Christian man he has helped the young Jew because the latter has promised to convert to Christianity. Reading the records we have a deep look inside the streets of the city and the main places of the Jewish life in Rome, including the threatening Casa dei Catecumeni.