One of the various urban areas that bear evidence of Jewish settlements is the “Giudecca Vecchia” situated in the Forcella area, and still referenced in a street called after it. Today’s Via Giudecca Vecchia is not, however, a direct trace of the former neighbourhood: it was built under the Risanamento di Napoli urban redevelopment scheme during which every trace of the old Jewish quarter was wiped out.
It seems that the Jews of Naples lived in this area for a relatively short space of time, in the Norman-Swabian period (12th-13th century). Indeed, the name Vecchia (“old”) sets it apart from the settlement recorded in the period immediately after that, at Portanova, as a continuation of the existing Giudecca di S. Marcellino. Just like the Giudecca Nuova, the Giudecca in Forcella also spread out around an original Via Giudecca Vecchia; at the end of the street, a smaller quarter was built, clustered around a narrow side road, and known as Giudechella. While no longer recognisable, it has been identified as having stood between today’s Vico della Pace and Vico San Nicola dei Caserti.
