The ancient Jewish settlement of Trani dates back to the Middle Ages. It developed strongly after the destruction of Bari in 1156 by William the Bad and the arrival of Jewish settlers from Muslim Spain. However, two Jewish men, A. de Bramo and S. de Brado were already among the three signatories of the Ordinamenta Maris of 1063. The heart of the Lombard city housed the Jewish quarter near the port. The Spanish traveler Beniamino da Tudela records that in the second half of the 12th century, the community of Trani numbered 200 families that were culturally and economically important in the Norman-Swabian period. In 1231, Emperor Frederick II gave a Jewish settlers named Churulia the monopoly of the silk trade in the kingdom. Isaiah ben Melle of Trani, known as the Elder, is considered one of the greatest Talmudists of his time. His grandson, Isaiah ben Elias, is the author of the Pircke Halakot, the first Jewish ritual code compiled in Italy. There were four synagogues in the Swabian period. In the Angevin era, late 13th century, they were converted into churches. Two of them took the names of St Leonard and St Peter Martyr. The Scola Grande synagogue, now a Jewish museum, preserves the original 1246-47 epigraph and a mezuzah with text dating back to the time of Rabbi Isaiah the Elder. Scola Nova, erected earlier, was also converted into a church. Since 2007, it has been restored to its original function.