Absorption into Northern Italy

The general change in intellectual thinking in Italy at this time created an opening for a pragmatic vision of skepticism and tolerance towards Jews. Between the 1300s and 1500s, the establishment of Jewish “bankers” who were often also scholars, doctors and rabbis constitutes one of the most fascinating themes in the history of Italian Jewry. Their migration to Northern Italy spread rapidly through Umbria, the Marches, and Tuscany, creating communities in areas where Jews had never previously settled with a vigorous cultural, religious and linguistic identity.