In 1638, the Jews were segregated in the Modena ghetto by Duke Francesco I d’Este, and as early as 1617, the city’s conservators had formulated a similar request. The ghetto is bordered by the Via Emilia and the current Via Blasia, Via Coltellini, and Via Fonteraso; it includes the site of the current Piazza Mazzini, created by the demolition of part of the ghetto in 1904-1905. At the junction of the two internal streets with the Via Emilia, two gates close the ghetto from dusk until dawn, isolating it from the rest of the city.
