The Jews in Piran have never been numerous, but until the 40s they represented an almost constant presence. The future Morpurgos, the Jewish family that also took their surname from Maribor, also passed through here. This was explained by the historian Boris Hajdinjak in his exhaustive speech that retraced Jewish history also touching on our territory. Inspired by the novel by Zlatka Vokač Medic “Marpurgi” and the homonymous exhibition set up in the Library this month, the director of the Maribor synagogue tried to illustrate the complex facets of the Jewish religion, their different origins and their fates. Istria represented the crossroads of two different lineages of Jews. Piran has never had a synagogue, to found one a community of at least ten adult men is needed, according to Hajdinjak, but it is assumed that there were burials, since the creed imposes it within the day of death.
Only when things were really bad for the Jewish people did their history begin in Piran, that is, in the Middle Ages. Giovanni da Capistrano, a famous inquisitor of the Middle Ages, is said to have passed through here, and the foundation of the Franciscan monastery dedicated to Saint Bernardino of Siena is linked to him, but the sources are few and confused. The same goes for the Piran Jews of the 20th century, such as the Curzolo family, who had supported the fascist cause at the beginning and had been deported in the 40s. As Daniela Paliaga Janković, who is also interested in this aspect of history in her research, pointed out, in the Piran archive there are letters in defense of Oscar Curzolo dating back to his trial in 1945. Oscar had claimed to have given refuge to many people in his house in Portorož, including anti-fascists. As for the possible positioning of the stumbling stones, according to Paliaga, it will be necessary to shed light on the uncertain sources available.

Maja Cergol
Source: Radio Capodistria – 01/03/2022