Description
The Aron Kodech (holy ark) is the cupboard or niche in the synagogue where the Torah scrolls are kept; generally placed on the wall oriented toward Jerusalem, it constitutes the focal point of the building and of prayer, the symbolic heir of the ark of the Temple. In Italy, these arches in carved and gilded wood deploy the vocabulary of Baroque architecture: broken pediments, twisted columns, scrolls, and ornate crowning. Their production engaged carpenters and sculptors of the highest rank. Several ancient Italian arches, dismantled upon the closure of small communities, were transferred and reassembled elsewhere, testifying to the splendor of the synagogue furnishings of the peninsula.
