Pitigliano is built on the tip of a rock of kind of limestone called ‘tufo’,
beneath the shadow of Castello Orsini. The houses and cottages are still very
rural and interspaced with natural caves and grottos which are mostly cellars or
stables nowadays.
From the 9th century onwards Pitigliano depended on Sovana,
which was the main home of the Aldobrandeschi family. The town subsequently grew
in importance and in 1293 it took over the headquarters from Sovana
.
Pitigliano is also known as Italy’s Little Jerusalem, due to the longstanding
Jewish community which has resided there since the second half of the 16th
Century under the protection of the Orsini family. The Jewish Temple, in the
Jewish quarter in Vicolo Manin, founded in 1598, was altered several times after
1700 and has only regained its classical form since it was renovated in 1995.
The religious interior with Aron and the Tevà can also be visited. The numerous
lamps hanging from the ceiling are engraved with biblical writings and
epigraphs. The higher level contains the matroneo for women, while the lower
section the ritual bathing area. The Kosher butcher’s shop and the unleven bread
oven are in caves carved inside the rock.
