Abstract
Two major events are generally cited as indicative of the new hostile Counter-Reformation attitude of the Papacy toward the Jews and consequently as causing a deterioration of the situation of the Jews throughout the Italian peninsula. The first is the papal bull
Cum Nimis Absurdum
issued in 1555 by Paul IV, the zealous former Cardinal Caraffa, only months after he assumed the papal throne, while the second is the burning at the stake in 1556 of the former New Christians who had reverted to Judaism in Ancona. While not minimizing the importance of
Cum Nimis Absurdum
and the action against the former New Christians in Ancona, it may nevertheless be instructive to step back and reconsider their impact on the Jews of the Italian peninsula and clarify whether they really represented a major peninsula-wide turning point.