The Jewish ghetto and the bookshop of Elia
The laws of King Charles Felix, as in the period from 1724 – 1800, had again laid down that Jews should live in separate districts from Christians. In spite of the prejudices of the time, John Bosco went to the ghetto (Via della Pace 8) to give lessons to youths of his own age, who could not attend the state schools because of their religion. Here there was a bookshop run by Elia Foa, where the young student would go to buy books to study, paying a small price for each volume and then returning it after reading it. It was in this bookshop that John Bosco met Jonah (Giacobbe Levi), a Jew who later converted to Catholicism.
