Memoir
Joseph of Siena
1625–1633
I record how, in the year 1625, the Grand Duke came to Sienna, and Messer Abraham Pesaro and Messer Buonaventura Gallichi were appointed to collect the levy. From me, they demanded a pair of sheets, a bed-canopy, a blanket, and a pillow—twice as much as they imposed upon anyone else. I gave them everything they asked, but the said Abraham thrice…
Creator Bio
Joseph of Siena
Not much is known about Joseph, from Siena, Italy, a minor trader in second-hand goods, clothing, and carnival masks. Historian Cecil Roth, unable to find more information about Joseph’s family, assigned him the last name “da Modena,” from the name of Jacob ben Eleazar Modena of Sienna, presumably a relative, on whose ledger he wrote this memoir. In Judeo-Italian, Joseph narrated various wrongs done him, mostly in the context of financial transactions. This text provides insights to the daily life of the ghetto, particularly tensions and bickering among its less affluent inhabitants. He married Anna bat Solomon Milano, with whom he had children.
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