Through the arts, music, texts and other records of Jewish culture during the Italian Renaissance, Jewish and Christian scholars will reveal the conflicted history of Jewish-Catholic relations in Venetian Glass: The Fragile World of Renaissance Jews and the Vatican. Sponsored by the Center for Adult Jewish Learning, this five-part Thursday night series, May 1–June 12, illuminates the tensions that characterized the Jewish experience in medieval Europe.

Opening the series on May 1, Philip Cunningham, explores the 2,000-year history of relations between Jews and Catholics. Executive Director and Adjunct Professor of Theology at Boston College's Center for Christian-Jewish Learning, the lecture's co-sponsor, Cunningham will discuss Catholic documents from various centuries as well as more recent changes in Church policies following Vatican Council II.

A lecture/concert featuring the Zamir Chorale of Boston follows on May 8, presenting visual and vocal examples of how the musical traditions of Judaism and Christianity have both diverged and converged over the centuries. Led by Chorale Founder and Director Joshua Jacobson, Visiting Professor of Jewish Music at Hebrew College and Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern University, the evening is a prelude to Zamir's upcoming heritage mission to Italy, part of the Sacred Bridges interfaith initiative with the Boston Archdiocese.

On May 22, Benjamin Ravid investigates how the word "ghetto" first became associated with the enforced segregation of Jews in 16th-century Italy. The Jennie and Mayer Weisman Professor of Jewish History at Brandeis University, Ravid will draw on his research of previously unexamined documents from the Venetian state archives.

Focusing on the visual art created by the Jews of Rome, on May 29, Barbara Wisch analyzes the culture's conflicting representations of Jews and Judaism in Renaissance Italy. Professor of Art History at SUNY Cortland, Wisch will present examples of the elaborately decorated manuscripts of the period, as well as frescoes and other art.

Italy's first and perhaps greatest synagogue composer, Salamone Rossi Hebreo (c. 1570–c. 1630) is the subject of the final lecture on June 12. Joshua Jacobson, an expert on Rossi's life and compositions, will present recorded music and illustrations in a lecture co-sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program at Northeastern University.

Admission to each event, including the lecture/concert on May 8, is $10 with advance paid registration, or $15 at the door. All programs start at 7:30 p.m. Early registration for the entire series is $40. For information or to register, call the Center for Adult Jewish Learning at 617-559-8709.

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