Finzi Perfumery

In the early 20th century, Profumeria Finzi stood on via Mazzini 61-63. Owned by the Finzi family, the shop did not limit itself to selling perfumes, but also handled a wide range of stationery products and, as the signs read, various trinkets.

The perfumery was managed by the brothers Renato and Enzo Finzi and was the prime shopping spot in Ferrara. Unlike other businesses owned by Jews, the Finzi shop remained open, even after the racial laws went into effect in 1938, forbidding Jews from owning businesses. The Perfumery was bequeathed to Berta Finzi, Renato’s Catholic wife, thus circumventing the fascist rules and enabling the shop to remain open until 1943.

That year, after the armistice of September 8th, Enzo Finzi decided to flee Ferrara, taking his wife Nella and their two children, Cesare and Manlio, with him. After a series of mishaps, the family found itself in Gabicce and here, through the intervention of one of the Righteous who remains anonymous, they obtained false documents. With their new identities, the Finzis moved to Mondaino, a small town in the province of Rimini.

At the end of the war, the Finzis returned to Ferrara and with difficulty, reopened their business on via Mazzini which regained its position as the city’s center for shopping until it was finally closed.