On 29 March 1516, the Venetian Republic created the first ghetto on a small island in the north-western sestiere of Cannaregio. The residents were removed and replaced within a week by Jews already in Venice. This was a period in which the city sought to keep a watchful eye on all foreigners: the French, English and Spanish embassies were also relegated to Cannaregio. There had been a metal foundry (ghèto) in the parish, which has traditionally been the source of the name, although the etymology is far from clear. The French writer Alice Becker-Ho in her book Le premier ghetto ou l’exemplarité vénitienne presents a number of valid alternatives: gouda-(h), separation and ghetta, herd.

Jews within Venice therefore found a secure place to live despite the restrictions imposed on them, and were soon joined by others fleeing persecution in central Europe. They built two synagogues in the ghetto: the Schola Grande Tedesca and the Schola Canton. The pragmatic Venetian Republic later exploited the economic advantages of allowing Levantine Jews to settle there – charging the residents for rent, water, the cost of the compulsory nightwatchman and all services.

The population was swelled by the arrival of Marrani Jews, expelled from Spain and Portugal when they refused to convert. As the reputation of the ghetto spread, the population (about 700 in 1516) grew, and when the English traveller Thomas Coryat visited in 1608, he recorded as many as 6,000 inhabitants. The Ghetto Vecchio (old ghetto, though it was newer than the original) and later the Ghetto Novissimo were added to accommodate the growing population.

Living conditions were cramped and insanitary. Rooms could be reached only through other families’ living space. The gates were unlocked at dawn and locked by sunset and all residents were required to wear yellow headgear or a badge. In what was, for a time, a tolerant Venice, Jews were not forced to convert and the ghetto became a place of study and scholarship; money-lending and the sale of some goods, such as jewellery and fur, was allowed. Christians attended concerts in the ghetto, and Christian architects and builders created synagogues. This Jewish melting pot had a lasting cultural impact on Venetian language, cuisine, music and dance.

By 1797 disease, war and politics had shrunk the population of the ghetto to 3,000. Napoleon’s troops brought an end to the Republic of Venice and to the ghetto; they burned down the gates, and French principles of liberty, equality and fraternity allowed the ghetto’s inhabitants at last to be free and equal. The poorest Jews remained in the ghetto, but many others left for other parts of the city, where they integrated, buying palaces on the Grand Canal and taking part in political life. Some contributed actively to the fight against Austrian occupation.

Race laws in Italy in 1938 affected the Jewish community dramatically. Jews were barred from the Lido beach, and dangerous discrimination began. After German troops arrived in 1944, Venetian Jews of all ages were gathered in the ghetto’s central campo and from there deported. Most of them never returned. A monument now commemorates this shameful event. Its seven bronze reliefs are dedicated to the six million victims of the Holocaust. It is the work of Arbit Blatas, a Lithuanian Jew. The panels are mounted on a wall below the barbed wire left by the Germans. An eighth panel, The Last Train, stands alone, inscribed with the names of the deported Venetian Jews. There are roughly six hundred Jews in Venice today; those in the ghetto include the residents of the Casa di Riposo, a home mainly for elderly Jews.

Events to commemorate the anniversary

There will be a public exhibition at the Doge’s Palace from 19 June to 13 November entitled Venice, the Jews and Europe 1516-2016. On 19 June Il Pomo d’Oro orhcestra will give a concert entitled Music Without Borders. The Ikona gallery, on the main campo, will host an exhibition, Peggy Guggenheim in Photographs, from 9 June to 9 October. The Jewish cemetery on the Lido will be open to visitors and Venetian Heritage’s planned restoration of the Jewish Museum will allow access to the Italian synagogue.
• veniceghetto500.org

Walks

After looking at the powerful monument commemorating Jewish deportation , visitors can walk around the Ghetto Vecchio with its two striking Levantine and Spanish synagogues and finish in the Ghetto Novissimo. The wealthy Spanish Jews built their synagogue in the Ghetto Vecchio with its entrance at ground level. It has a beautiful interior with a carved pulpit and rich decoration, but visits can only be arranged through the Jewish Museum (see below). There is a little bridge crossing the canal between the original Ghetto Nuovo and the Ghetto Vecchio, from where local gondola tours can be arranged with the resident gondoliers. There is a helpful information point next to the new Majer bakery (which serves Venetian specialities).

Jewish Museum

Two synagogues were built on the upper floors of what is now the museum, founded in 1953, with a bookshop and cafe. Precious objects are on display but it also offers guided tours in various languages, including visits to some synagogues.
• Entrance to the museum and guided tours to synagogues €10 adults, €8 concessions, museoebraico.it

Banco Rosso

The only remaining of the first three banks in the world (and the origin of the expression ‘to be in the red’) is worth a visit. There you can read a short history of the ghetto and early banking.
• €2 adults, €1.50 concessions, bancorosso.org

Eating

You can eat inside and outside at Al Faro, Upupa and Banco Rosso restaurants; they serve pizza and typical Venetian dishes. For Jewish food try Gam Gam restaurant-patisserie: it has a pleasant terrace by the Cannaregio canal. The lunchtime meze menu is good and cheap, but it is wise to book. For the full experience Giardino dei Melograni (Pomegranate Garden) specialises in kosher, vegetarian and vegan cuisine and will also have fish on its menu. It has a large garden and has recently added a hotel.

Shopping

The old bakery, Panificio Volpe Giovanni, sells local bread and biscuits. Diego Baruch Fusetti’s Arte Ebraica Shalom Venezia deals in Jewish religious objects and David’s Shop sells traditional items made of Murano glass, such as Hanukkah lamps. Denis Dittura at El Papussa Calagher makes soft-leather bags and purses and still repairs bags and shoes, a rare thing in Venice these days. Aboaf Enzo at the Stamperia del Ghetto sells, among other things, black-and-white prints of the old ghetto.

* Most places closed on Saturdays

Marie-José Gransard is author of Venice: A Literary Guide for Travellers, published by IB Tauris (£16.99). To order a copy for £13.59 including UK p&p visit the guardian bookshop or call on 0330 333 6846