created the Jewish ghetto of Florence in 1571. Life in the Florence ghetto was compulsory for most but not all Jews. However, within the ghetto, the Jews had a certain amount of legal and governmental autonomy. They established synagogues, schools, kosher markets, and ritual bath houses. By the 1600s, the Italian Jews of Florence began to feel disenfranchised by the growing number of Spanish/Portuguese Jews. Tensions between the two groups rose as Sephardic rite congregations began to compete with the native Italian rite congregations. Despite the rift, both groups lived peacefully side by side. By the 18th century, there were about a thousand Jews living the ghetto of Florence. At this time, a small Hebrew printing shop began to publish works such as Aaron ben Jacob ha-Kohen's Orot Hayyim. Modern history In 1799, emancipation came to the Jews of Florence from Napoleonic forces who occupied the city. In 1848, the ghetto was abolished and the Jews of Florence were given civil rights under a new constitution. By 1861, the Jews were given full citizenship and the ghetto was leveled to make room for urban renewal. The Great Synagogue was built in 1882. In 1899, the Collegio Rabbinco Italiano (Rabbinical College of Padua) was relocated to Florence. Ashkenazi Rabbi, Samuel Hirsch Margulies became the principal of the college where he remained until his death in 1922. Rabbi Margulies was an ardent Zionist and was very popular with the young Jews of Florence. Other notable Rabbis of Florence during this era include: Riccardo Pacifici, Tzvi-Peretz Hayot, and Israel Zolli. Holocaust By 1931, there were about 3,000 Jews living in Florence. Life was pleasant for the Jews of Florence and they were represented in most segments of Italian society. However, with the outbreak of World War II and the Nazi invasion of Italy, life for the Jews of Florence quickly deteriorated. In 1943, Florence was occupied by Nazi forces. The Nazis and their fascist cohorts began to arrest and round up Jews. Deportation for the Jews began almost immediately and most Jewish families lost relatives. Dr. Rabbi Nathan Cassuto who was the Jewish communal leader of Florence and was the son of Rabbi Umberto Cassuto, was one of the first to be sent to Auschwitz. Of the 243 Jews deported, only 13 returned alive. However, many of the Jews of Florence escaped the Nazis by heroic Italians who hid the Jews during the