What is the history of Pitigliano?

The history of Pitigliano goes back to the Etruscans, but the town's name appears in a written document only in 1061. The Etruscans left necropolises and vie cave, paths carved into the tuff around the village. You can discover the context in this guide to Etruscan heritage in Maremma. The medieval borough was first linked to the Aldobrandeschi, then passed to the Orsini at the end of the 13th^e century. Under their rule, Pitigliano became the center of their county; the Medici then took over, at the turn of the 16th^e et XVII^e siècles.

The other essential chapter is that of its Jewish community, attested from the 16th^e century. Pitigliano then welcomed Jewish families coming notably from neighboring territories, where restrictions were tightening. A synagogue was built in 1598. After the county was integrated into the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, the Jews were subjected to confinement in a ghetto, even though their community remained significant. It is this history that earned the village the nickname of "Little Jerusalem".

The Jewish community has greatly diminished, but its history is still visible in the Jewish quarter, the synagogue, and the preserved places of worship and life. The nickname therefore does not mean that Pitigliano remained a majority-Jewish town: rather, it recalls the role this community played in its local history.