The Medieval Civic Museum preserves four headstones in its collection that bear witness to the existence of the old cemetery in Via Orfeo which, in 1569, handed over to the convent of San Pietro Martire by means of a papal brief by Pope Pius IV.

The headstones are large, finely decorated and engraved in the renaissance style. The oldest is dated 1508 and displays the name of Avraham Yaghel da Fano.

The headstone of a Shabbatai Elkanan da Rieti, dated 1546, is interesting from an artistic point of view. Mounted on an ornated base, the headstone displays a winged mask and a rich moulding in the centre of the family coatof-arms. The area that contains the funeral inscription is supported by the bust of a young figure; two winged puti on either side create a kind of frame. The third headstone is from 1555 (July) and is dedicated to a Menachem Ventura, who died quite young; the family coat-of-arms included the figure of a deer. The back of the final headstone carries a funeral inscription in memory of Joav da Rieti, but the headstone was reused for Rinaldo dei Duglioli who died in 1571.
Font: "Jewish tours in Emilia Romagna" - Touring Club Italiano

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