An old English Cemetery in Italy

With the Livornine laws, promulgated by Grand Duke Ferdinando I °, starting from 1590, to favor the economy and the repopulation of an unhealthy and malarial zone, the Jewish communities were allowed first, and then all the others, to settle in Livorno. The main purpose was to attract the rich Sephardic communities.

The Holy Inquisition of Pisa, however, was not far away, and those who professed another faith, even if protected by special laws, had to do so with caution and without ostentation. Non-Catholic places of worship and even cemeteries were prohibited. Before the…