Venturing into the historic centre, one reaches the foothills of the castle, where the ancient Jewish ghetto is located outside its walls. More likely a district reserved for Jews rather than a true ghetto, it was separate from the Christian population.
There was no actual synagogue: the small community gathered for prayer in the home of the rabbi or the eldest member. At the entrance to the alley, an alabaster step with a hole in it can still be seen, likely where an iron rod was inserted as part of a grate to close the alley at night.
Almost directly across from Vico Giudea lies Vico Uso. According to tradition, this was the commercial hub for the Jewish community, who engaged in the sale of “rags” or “used cloths,” giving the alley its name, Vico Uso. Today, only a few traces of this ancient community remain, preserved in the names of Itri’s narrow alleys.
