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The Widespread Museum of Acquese Jewish Culture is an initiative launched in 2016, after the reopening of the Jewish Cemetery and its partial reorganization, which allows accessibility and the visit to the large series of tombs. Next to the cemetery part there is a small room, in the past used as a mortuary and storage room and which will become a small documentation center for guided tours. In addition to the cemetery, the project of the Widespread Museum also concerns other signs of memory present in the city, as traces of the important Jewish presence in Acqui. The visit to the cemetery is possible by appointment, accompanied by a guide, through the Culture Office of the Municipality of Acqui Terme. The origin of the project is linked to the celebrations of the Giornata della Memoria carried out in 2001 in the city, to the educational project launched in the following years at the IIS Montalcini of Acqui, and is being implemented through the celebrations of the Jewish Culture Day, celebrated in the city starting from 2009 in collaboration with the FAI, Italia Nostra and the Municipality.

In Acqui Terme there has been an uninterrupted Jewish presence for over 500 years, from the first settlements of the mid-1400s to the last Jews who lived there until the 1960s (the last rabbi, Adolfo Ancona, died in 1952 ); in 1931 the community was aggregated to that of Alexandria, which in turn was incorporated into the one in Turin in 1989. A significant story that of the Jews of Acqui Terme: in the nineteenth century 600 members in fact animated the life of the community, still lively and rich at the advent of racist laws and then rapidly decline after the Holocaust, which saw about thirty deported people while many at the end of the conflict they moved to larger centers. Jews who left important traces in the life of the spa town, especially for having contributed to urban development, to the construction of large public works and for having cast a glance across the border, but especially for the important legacies and donations of Jona Ottolenghi, a member of one of the oldest and most prestigious families.

Cultural and religious meetings are periodically held dedicated to the relationship between Judaism and Christianity, curated by local religious associations (Catholic Action, diocesan Commission for ecumenism and dialogue among religions). These meetings are aimed at citizens, students and teachers, and have seen the participation of experts and representatives of the Jewish Community of Turin and Genoa.

The religious influence on local society, during the centuries, has been significant. There were no episodes of dialogue and integration, alongside events of marginalization and discrimination, even violent. Already at the end of the 19th century there was a debate on the assimilation of the Jews to the local society and therefore on cultural and religious relations in particular with the Catholic community.

Direct visit:
with the guide of the students of the section of the Tourist Technical Institute.
Classroom activity (pre and post the visit):
Analysis of some of the gravestones in the cemetery Presentation of the figure of Raffaele OttolenghiActivity of verification of the acquired knowledge