January 16 1600 – 29 Tevet 5360
The four hundred Jews of Verona completed their synagogue, having been forced by the local bishop to move inside the walls of the city’s ghetto. Somewhat incongruously, the date was celebrated as a “Purim” until the French Revolution, since Verona’s Jews felt the ghetto actually provided them with protection, especially as the keys to its gates were placed in the hands of the city’s Jewish leaders. The community has only one synagogue, for both Ashkenazic and Sephardic Jews, and is still active today.