La mobilità ebraica nel Tardo Medioevo nell’Italia Nord-Orientale e nell’Istria

Jewish Mobility in the Late Middle Ages in Northeastern Italy and Istria This paper examines Jewish mobility in north-eastern Italy and Istria during the Late Middle Ages, focusing on the Patriarchate of Aquileia, Trieste, Gorizia, and the Istrian cities. It analyzes the factors that shaped Ashkenazi Jewish migration from Central Europe, including persecution, economic constraints, and the search for new credit markets, as well as the legal frameworks regulating settlement through condotte (charters of residence). The study highlights the temporary and highly mobile character of Jewish presence, closely tied to the duration of credit agreements, while also identifying cases of long-term settlement where stable relationships with municipal or princely authorities developed. Particular attention is paid to credit activities, legal protections, limits of citizenship, and religious life. Overall, Jewish mobility emerges as a structural feature of Jewish life in the region, shaped by economic opportunity, legal insecurity, and transregional networks linking Friuli, Veneto, and Istria.