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The first modern rabbinical seminary was founded in 1829 in Padua on the initiative of the Austrian government, under the trusteeship of the Jewish communities of the Lombardo-Venetian Kingdom. From the beginning, the Collegio Rabbinico had the status of a university; it educated rabbis who went on to work in many different European communities up until 1871. The Collegio Rabbinico significantly influenced the Wissenschaft des Judentums​, especially through personages like its co-founder Isaac Samuel Reggio and its lecturer Samuel David Luzzatto.1. Foundation historyA co…

The aristocratic Gonzaga family reigned in the Northern Italian duchy of Mantua between 1328 and 1708. Because of their pragmatic and moderate policies in regards to the Jews, a flourishing Jewish life developed in the seat of power of the Gonzagas. From the Renaissance to the end of the 17th century, the economy, the sciences, and the arts flourished there. With the integration of Mantua into the Habsburg Empire in 1708, the city state entered upon a decline, both economically and culturally, which, however, did not bring Jewish erudition to a complete halt.1. Settlement history, law…