Oratorio di Castro – Sinagoga Romana – 360°

At a glance

Type

Synagogue (oratory)

Where

Via Cesare Balbo, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Coordinates

41.8982216° N, 12.4948016° E

Opened

1914

Windows

By the Roman master Aldo Di Castro, 1991

Overview

The Oratorio Di Castro, opened in 1914, is a Roman synagogue. It was the second to be built in Rome after the unification of Italy — the first being the Tempio Maggiore — and the first raised outside the historic boundaries of the old ghetto, in Via Cesare Balbo.

History

In the old ghetto of Rome stood a building known as the Cinque Scole, which housed the community’s places of worship. After the unification of Italy, in 1870, it was demolished to make room for the Tempio Maggiore of Rome, whose construction was completed in 1904.

The stained-glass windows are the work of the Roman master Aldo Di Castro, and date from 1991.

What you see

The main entrance is surmounted by the Tablets of the Law. Inside are the entrance hall, the prayer room with its decorated ceiling and wall painting by Brugnoli, the cast-iron balustrade and the women’s gallery; the benches are those that originally stood in the main hall and have since been replaced there.

Two plaques are set in the building: one in memory of Grazia Pontecorvo, one in memory of the Jewish Brigade.

Practical information

• Address: Via Cesare Balbo 33, 00184 Rome, Lazio.
• It is a working place of worship: visits depend on the community’s arrangements.

Sources

• Cultural Heritage Online historical archive — original Italian entry (beniculturalionline.it), transposed and corrected 2026.