![]() Not only is it illegal for Jews to render medical treatment to Christians, it's also punishable by torture and death. When a Christian count appears at Hannah's door in the Jewish ghetto imploring her to attend his labouring wife, who is nearing death, Hannah is forced to make a dangerous decision. Hannah Levi is known throughout sixteenth-century Venice for her skill in midwifery. It was on such a night that the men came for Hannah. Seeping refuse on the streets renders the pavement slick and the walking treacherous. Through the mist rising from the canal the cries and grunts of foraging pigs echo. Shapeless matter, perhaps animal, floats to the surface of Rio di San Girolamo and hovers on its greasy waters. The Ponte di Ghetto Nuovo, the bridge that leads to the ghetto, trembles under the weight of sacks of rotting vegetables, rancid fat, and vermin. At midnight, the dogs, cats, and rats rule Venice. ![]()
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