LODI

LODI, town in N. Italy, in the former duchy of Milan. Jewish moneylenders were possibly invited to Lodi in about 1420. In 1541 the Jews of Lodi and of other cities of the duchy obtained the protection of Pope Paul III against the anti-Jewish preachings of the friars. Copies of the Talmud were burnt by order of the Inquisition in Lodi in 1559, and in 1597 other works were destroyed. The Jews were expelled from the duchy in 1597, and after the expulsion the Jews were allowed by the authorities to settle in the city only for a short period for professional reasons, with the exception of the Vitali family, bankers who resided permanently in Lodi until the end of the 18th century. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Roth, Italy, index; Milano, Italy, index; Milano, Bibliotheca, index; Pavoncello, in: REJ, 119 (1961), 131–42; Joseph ben Joshua ha-Kohen, Emek ha-Bakha (19452), passim; Dimitrowski, in: Zion, 20 (1955), 179–81; idem, in: Talpioth, 6 (1955), 708–22; Cremascoli, in: Israel (Jan. 24, Feb. 14, March 21, 1957); S. Simonshon, A Documentary History of the Jews in Italy. The Duchy of Milan, 4 vols. (1982–86). (Federica Francesconi (2nd ed.)