were patrolled after sundown in order to
prevent any of the inhabitants from min-
gling with Gentiles (non-Jews) in the rest
of the city. As the Jewish population in-
creased, and the neighborhood grew dan-
gerously overcrowded, the ghetto was ex-
panded into neighboring quarters. The
ghetto came to an end with the Republic
of Venice, which was overthrown in 1797
by the armies of Napoléon Bonaparte. The
neighborhood has remained a center of
the Jewish religion and culture up to the
present day.
The idea of a ghetto for Jewish resi-
dents spread to other cities in Italy and
Europe. In Rome, Pope Paul IV established
a small Jewish ghetto of four city blocks in
- As in Venice, the neighborhood was
surrounded by a wall and not allowed to
expand even as its population grew. The
pope enforced the requirement that Jews
live there by a papal bull (decree),Cum
Nimis Absurdum. The ghetto of Rome was
opened in 1870 and its walls torn down in
SEEALSO: Jews; Venice
Ghirlandaio, Domenico ...................
(1449–1494)
A painter and renowned fresco artist of
Florence, Domenico Ghirlandaio was born
in the city as the son of a goldsmith, To-
masso Bigordi. At a young age he helped
in the workshop of his father, who earned
the nickname “Ghirlandaio” from the
golden garlands he created for wealthy
young women of the city. Domenico later
studied painting and mosaic with the art-
ist Alesso Baldovinetti, in whose workshop
he developed great skill at the art of fresco
painting, in which paint is applied to wet
plaster and allowed to combine and dry
with the plaster on a wall. About 1475, he
was commissioned by the family of
Amerigo Vespucci to paint theMadonna of
Mercyand theLamentation over Christ in
the Church of Ognissanti. Vespucci himself
appears in this work in a small portrait. In
the same church the artist painted aLast
Supper, which some historians believed in-
fluenced Leonardo da Vinci in his fresco
of the same scene in Milan. In the town of
San Gimignano, Ghirlandaio completed a
series of frescoes in the chapel of Santa
Fina, ingeniously incorporating elements
of the building into his picture. He was
also hired to paint fresco scenes in the
Palazzo Vecchio, the city hall of Florence.
In 1483 Ghirlandaio traveled to Rome,
where he painted theCalling of Peter and
Andrewon a commission of Pope Sixtus
IV for the Sistine Chapel. He returned to
Florence and in 1486 completed frescoes
in the Sassetti Chapel of the church of
Santa Trinita, showing the life of Saint
Francis. The frescoes were set in Florence
and contain many portraits of the artists’
acquaintances, including Lorenzo de’
Medici and the writer Angelo Poliziano.
After this work Ghirlandaio completed his
most famous fresco cycle in the church of
Santa Maria Novella, describing the life of
Saint John the Baptist and Mary, in four-
teen separate pictures along the side walls
of the church choir. In this work, he had
the help of a young apprentice, Michelan-
gelo Buonarroti. The details and the many
portraits of this cycle have provided histo-
rians with a rich source of information on
the clothing, interior architecture, and per-
sonalities of Renaissance Florence.
Ghirlandaio’s most famous panel
paintings include the Adoration of the
Shepherds, theAdoration of the Magi, and
several famous portraits, including
Francesco Sassetti and His SonandGrand-
father with His Grandson, the artist’s most
familiar single work. The tender momentGhirlandaio, Domenico