h population was prospering and things looked to be going well.The events that occurred throughout the latter half of the sixteenth- century, in Ancona and Pesaro were the effects of Counter Reformation. This began at the turn of the century with the expulsion of Jews from Spain and later Portugal. The desire of the Catholic Church to enforce its presence in Italy led to the Inquisitions in the 1530s, initially against Protestants and later Jews. Ancona was unique because it has a small Jewish population that had been settled there for years. In contrast, Pesaro had a Converso Jewish population. The Ancona Boycott Incident, set a major split between the Converso population living in Pesaro and the Jews that had been living in Ancona. The result was that each group faced the persecution of the Catholic Church, the major difference being many Conversos were killed or either put into ghettos. The end result was the further perpetuation of the diaspora, and a precedent was set for Jews that lasted until the nineteenth- century.In 1556, there was a dramatic change that affected the cities of Ancona and Pesaro. This was the election of Pope Paul IV. Before being pope, he led Inquisitions in various parts of Italy, and was known for his anti-Jewish sentiment. As for Paul IV, the Jews did nor have to wait for his elevation to the papal throne to discover his true sentiments. As head of the Inquisition prior to his election, the future pope Cardinal Caraffa had made no effort to keep them a secret. He played a leading role in Julius IIIs decision to order the bonfire of all extant copies of the Talmud in Campo de Fiori in September 1553, and to invite other Italian heads of state to follow his exampleLess than two months after his ascent to the papacy, on 14 July 1555, the pope published the bull Cum nimis absurdum, which marked the complete reversal of traditional policy with regard to Jews and the beginning of a revolution in their...
