Neofiti
{{Refimprove|date=November 2016}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox ethnic group|image=
|group=Neofiti
|population=unknown
|popplace=Southern Italy
|langs=Unknown, probably Sicilian, other Italian dialects, and/or Italkian
|rels=Catholicism and Crypto-Judaism until the 16th century
|related=
The neofiti ({{langx|en|Neophytes}}) were a group of Italian anusim, also known as crypto-Jews, living in Southern Italy.
History
Image:Kingdom of Sicily 1154.svg
The neofiti were descendants of Jews who were forced to convert to Roman Catholicism in 1493. They continued to secretly practice certain elements of Judaism, as did many of their descendants.
In the 1490s, the Spanish Inquisition ruthlessly hunted the neofiti and many were tortured and executed, especially in Sicily.{{cite web|url=http://www.the-jewish-story.org/neofiti.html |title=Expulsion of the Sicilian Neofiti (Marranos) and their resettlement |website=The-jewish-story.org |date= |access-date=2016-11-18}}
Today, some descendants of neofiti in Calabria and Apulia have converted back to Judaism and revived their former Jewish congregations.{{citation needed|date=August 2016}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://terminiimerese.wordpress.com/cultural-factors/surnames-indicative-of-jewish-heritage-the-neofiti/ terminiimerese.wordpress.com]
- [http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/91z342hv;jsessionid=12F3609EC7FEDD94179CBCB56DAC4DA4#page-1 escholarship.org]
Category:Jewish Italian history