Still considered rogue Catholics by Italian rabbinical authorities, Manduzio and his followers, about 80 people, converted to Judaism in 1946. Three years later, virtually all the converts made aliya. Manduzio died in 1948, and like Moses, never saw the Holy Land.
Their amazing story is recounted in a film, The Mystery of San Nicandro, inspired by a book by John Davis. Vanessa Dylyn`s 67-minute documentary is fascinaing and riveting.
San Nicandro lies at the heart of her film, but broadly speaking, it’s also about the renaissance of Judaism in southern Italy, a region purged of Jews during the Inquisition.