The Ghetto in Chieri arose in 1723-24, but what remains today of the ex-Jewish Ghetto is a group of houses in a narrow street going up the hill from Via Vittorio Emanuele II. The street is called Via della Pace (Peace Street) but it was known in local dialect as “sù dij breu” (more or less ‘Jew’s Hill’) In the past this area featured a series of houses linked by common balconies, stairs, passageways and yards, which were all gathered around a central yard known as the “Chazer”.
The houses that formed, and still form, the Ghetto were owned by aristocratic Christian families who rented them to Jews, who were never permitted to become property owners. In June,1724, it was decided to designate as part of the Ghetto the old houses of Count Bonaudo di Robassomero, which had once been the property of the Villa and Solaro families and which still stand between Via della Pace, Via Maestra (now called Via Vittorio Emanuele II) and Vicolo Corona Grossa. The Synagogue in Chieri ceased activity in 1935, since there were no longer any active Jewish activities. Its valuable decorations were removed in 1942 to the lower Temple in Turin, to replace those destroyed during the bombings of November 1942. The present Synagogue is on the first floor of the internal building, facing onto the central yard, or “Chazer”. The splendid ceiling frescoes and decorations of the lunettes above the windows are worthy of special attention. They were painted by an eminent craftsman whose name is unfortunately unknown.
