The Jewish Venice, in addition to the presence of the notorious Leone Modena, known for his work of extraordinary success, Historia de’ riti hebraici, destined to reach an extremely widespread circulation in Europe, included personalities of great intellectual substance especially from the years of the Interdict through the first half of the 17th century.

Many have advanced the hypothesis that the interlocutor could have been Leone Modena, one of the Venetian rabbis who animated the cultural life of the ghetto throughout the first half of the 17th century.

Coryat’s interlocutor, whether real or not, becomes an emblematic symbol of a new confrontation between Christianity and Judaism. Besides the description of certain aspects of the synagogue’s service, Coryat also narrated a long theological discussion entertained with a Jew from the ghetto concerning the personality of Jesus. While in Venice, he made certain to visit the Jewish Ghetto that, given the Venetian topographic diligence in positioning the social-religious components of its political body, was located adjacent to the dwelling of Sir Wotton, the English ambassador.

His long journey through Europe had been immortalized in one of the most renowned works in English travel literature, Coryat Crudities, where a vivid description of the city, of its socio-political structure, and of its culture were given.ĭuring the voyage that took him from England to Italy, Coryat met some prominent scholars, among whom the great philosopher Casaubon. During the year 1608, the well educated English traveler Thomas Coryat reached Venice.

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