Jewish Ghetto Food Tour

A food tour of the Jewish Ghetto may not be the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of things to do in Venice, but it was filled with stories of different communities living in peaceful existence for hundreds of years - until the insanity of Hitler and his followers - captured in stirring art installations,  so no one passing through the Jewish Ghetto in Venice will ever forget - can't imagine anyone would.  For background, the Italian word 'geto' (no h) purportedly translates to metal foundry - and Venice had a small area that once was a metal foundry - and ultimately, the Jewish people migrated to the area known as the 'geto' - having no connotation or association with a slum or population segregated by race.  Italy claims it is home to the first 'geto', later known as Ghetto, in a positive way - to give people refuge - history has a way of romanticizing why it was a positive thing that people lived in a walled-off area since the 1500s.   Of course, today it remains a working class area - with now only 350 or so Jewish inhabitants in Venice, from its heyday of more than 5,000.  Venice population has also shrunk from over 100K, to fewer than 55K - it is difficult to find jobs, the housing is very expensive - and its true commodity is tourism - tough to make a living in a town that is literally sinking under its own weight.

Now back to food (couldn't find a good way to segue between history through the Venetians eyes), the tour stopped at 6 different places with an appetizer sized servings and some paired with wine.  In-between was a walking tour with history of the area.  Our guide Nico was engaging and clearly has a love of what he does.  A few shots of the evening.

 First stop, a Jewish bakery for an almond biscuit

 Traditional Italian Prosciutto and cantaloupe, with a nice Prosecco

Our favorite - this delicious little morsel is very typical Venetian style - and is consumable for five days without refrigeration. Delish!

 Meat, cheese and a nice sparkling red wine

Ok, so our own family inside joke. Ever since watching the DaVinci Code in Florence 13 years ago, Mark continues his Illuminati conspiracy theories - always for a laugh and we seriously can't get away from the Mason sightings -  and was glad to see their symbol (eye inside a triangle) continues to provide us fodder, found on a church at the border of the Ghetto.  There is much debate on how active they were (or may still be......), their intentions, and all the lore surrounding the virtues of this group, made more sensational by Hollywood.