Italian Jewish DNA
Genetic origins and closest populations · Italy · Southern Europe
Italian Jews, sometimes called Italkim, belong to one of the oldest Jewish communities in Europe: Jews have lived in Rome continuously since before the Roman Empire, and the community kept its own Italian rite, distinct from both Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions. In our model, the Italian Jewish average is 51.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmer, 17.4% steppe, 16.5% Natufian, 10.6% Iranian Neolithic and 4.3% Caucasus hunter-gatherer. Its steppe share falls between the Sephardic (14.0%) and Ashkenazi (26.1%) averages, and its Natufian share is the highest of the three. The closest ancient group is the medieval Jewish community of Erfurt in Germany, at a very close distance of 0.0092, which fits the widely held view that the first Jewish communities of the Rhineland had links with Italy. After a second Italian Jewish (Italki) sample, the nearest modern averages are Jews of Turkey (0.0099), Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews from France.
- Largest ancient components in our model: Anatolian Neolithic farmers 51.2%, Steppe herders (Yamnaya) 17.4%, Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant) 16.5%
- Closest other community in our data: Turkish Jew, distance 0.0099
- Closest ancient group in our data: Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile), distance 0.0092
Italian Jewish is one of the 335 modern populations in our population genetics atlas. The numbers on this page describe the average Global25 (G25) genome of the Italian Jewish individuals sampled in Italy, listed in the G25 sheet as "Italian_Jew". Like every population average, it smooths over a lot of variation between individuals.
Ancient make-up of the Italian Jewish average
Modelled as a mix of deep ancestral reference populations, the Italian Jewish average comes out as 51.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 17.4% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 16.5% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant). The Anatolian Neolithic farmers component reflects the Neolithic farmers of Anatolia, who carried agriculture into Europe from about 6500 BC. The Steppe herders (Yamnaya) share (17.4%) reflects the Bronze Age herders of the Pontic-Caspian steppe (Yamnaya and related groups), whose ancestry spread across Europe and into Asia from about 3000 BC.
Smaller traces of Caucasus hunter-gatherers (under 5%) also appear. At that level they can reflect real minor ancestry, but also simple model noise, so they should not be over-read. The model fits well (fit distance 0.016), so these proportions are a reasonable summary. The model draws on West Eurasian ancient genomes, with modern West African and East Asian stand-ins.
Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report
Closest modern populations to Italian Jewish
Genetically, the Italian Jewish average sits nearest to Italki Jew at 0.003, Turkish Jew at 0.010 and Sephardic Jew (Turkey) at 0.011. On our scale, a distance of 0.003 counts as very close. Even the tenth closest, Italian (Calabria Reggio Calabria, Calabrese), is only 0.019 away: Italian Jewish belongs to a dense cluster of related populations, so small differences inside that cluster should not be over-interpreted.
| # | Population | Distance | Closeness |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Italki Jew | 0.0031 | Very close |
| 2 | Turkish Jew | 0.0099 | Very close |
| 3 | Sephardic Jew (Turkey) | 0.0105 | Very close |
| 4 | Ashkenazi Jew (France) | 0.0122 | Very close |
| 5 | Ashkenazi (Germany) | 0.0132 | Very close |
| 6 | Sephardic Jewish | 0.0150 | Very close |
| 7 | Romaniote Jew | 0.0152 | Very close |
| 8 | Sephardic Jew (Bulgaria) | 0.0154 | Very close |
| 9 | Sabbatean (Donme) | 0.0169 | Very close |
| 10 | Italian (Calabria Reggio Calabria, Calabrese) | 0.0185 | Very close |
Distances are Euclidean distances between averaged G25 coordinates. On our scale, below 0.025 is very close, below 0.050 close, below 0.080 moderate, and beyond that distant.
Closest ancient populations to Italian Jewish
Looking back in time, the ancient sample that most resembles the Italian Jewish average is Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile) (Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD), at 0.009. England High Medieval Tzarfati Jew Norwich and Spain Catalonia Late Medieval Sephardic Jew Tarrega come next. That is a very close match, which suggests strong genetic continuity between those ancient people (or close relatives of theirs) and the modern population. A close ancient match is not proof of direct descent: it means those individuals carried a similar overall mix of ancestry.
| # | Ancient sample or group | Period | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile) | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0092 |
| 2 | England High Medieval Tzarfati Jew Norwich | High Medieval, c. 1000-1300 AD | 0.0160 |
| 3 | Spain Catalonia Late Medieval Sephardic Jew Tarrega | Late Medieval, c. 1300-1500 AD | 0.0231 |
| 4 | Italy Basilicata Early Medieval Venosa (East Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0233 |
| 5 | Turkey Anatolia Hellenistic-Roman Republic Halicarnassus (East Med Profile) | Roman Republic, c. 500-27 BC | 0.0250 |
| 6 | Italy Lazio Late Antiquity Rome (East Med Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0264 |
| 7 | Italy Lazio Roman Empire-Late Antiquity Isola Sacra (East Med/Western Jewish Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0264 |
| 8 | Croatia Late Antiquity Sisak (East Med Profile) | Late Antiquity, c. 250-600 AD | 0.0272 |
| 9 | Turkey Anatolia Early Medieval Samantas (Byzantine, East Med Profile) | Byzantine era, c. 330-1450 AD | 0.0280 |
| 10 | Italy Piedmont Early Medieval Lombard Period Collegno (East Med Profile) | Early Medieval, c. 500-1000 AD | 0.0280 |
Ancient DNA from Italy
Our ancient DNA database holds 1,616 individuals excavated in present-day Italy, dated from about 37,855 BC to 1750 AD. The most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups among them are R1b (216), G2a (154) and I2a (59), and the most frequent mtDNA haplogroups are T2 (156), H1 (128) and U5 (121). These are people who lived on the same land in the past, not necessarily ancestors of today's Italian Jewish population.
Most frequent Y-DNA haplogroups
Ancient DNA studies on Italy
- LAYERED GENOMIC COMPOSITION AND LINGUISTIC CONTINUITY IN GRECÌA SALENTINA (2026)
- From prehistory to present-day: How isolation shaped the distinct genomic makeup of Italian Alpine valleys (2026)
- DNA signatures preserved in the official 1978 sample collection of the Shroud of Turin (2026)
- Ancient DNA analyses of remains of the Medici family (16th century) provide insights into the genetic variation of Plasmodium falciparum (2026)
- The Etruscans of Felsina: Reconstruction of the Genetic Profile and Biological Connections with Italic and Transalpine Populations from the Villanovan Period to the Roman period. (2026)
- DNA Traces on the Shroud of Turin: Metagenomics of the 1978 Official Sample Collection (2026)
- Ancient genomes from the siege and destruction of Middle Bronze Age Roca Vecchia (Apulia, Italy) shed light on Aegean contacts and conflicts (2025)
- The shifting dynamics of ancestry and culture at a post-Roman crossroads (2025)
Browse them in our ancient DNA database: 1,616 from Italy.
Compare yourself with Italian Jewish
Paste your G25 coordinates (scaled, one line, with or without a name in front) and we compute your genetic distance to the Italian Jewish average and to its closest neighbours, right in your browser. Nothing is uploaded or stored.
| # | Population | Your distance | Closeness |
|---|
This list only covers Italian Jewish and its neighbours. To find out which of our reports actually fits your DNA, run the free Report Finder: it runs the same fit test that every report uses before an order.
No G25 coordinates yet? Get a free simulated G25 from your raw DNA file, or order G25 coordinates.
About these numbers
Keep in mind that a population average is a statistical summary of a limited number of sampled individuals. Real people inside any group vary, some carry more of one ancestry and some less, and no genetic profile decides who is or is not Italian Jewish. Use these numbers as a map of deep ancestry, not as a label.
Method: averaged G25 coordinates, Euclidean distances to other modern and ancient averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations (data generated 2026-10-01). Read the full method.
Go deeper than the average
This page describes the Italian Jewish average. Your own DNA has its own story: Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report (15€) models your genome against the ancient sources and modern communities of the region, era by era, in a personal PDF report.
A report built for people of Jewish ancestry: ancient Israelite & Levantine core (Canaanite, Iron Age, Phoenician) plus the host admixture of your diaspora community, on a Jerusalem-centred animated map.
More populations from Southern Europe
Frequently asked questions
What is the ancient genetic make-up of Italian Jewish?
Modelled with deep ancestral reference populations, the Italian Jewish average is about 51.2% Anatolian Neolithic farmers, 17.4% Steppe herders (Yamnaya) and 16.5% Natufian hunter-gatherers (Levant). These proportions are model estimates for a group average, not exact values for any one person.
Which populations are genetically closest to Italian Jewish?
In the G25 data, the closest modern populations to the Italian Jewish average are Italki Jew, Turkish Jew and Sephardic Jew (Turkey). The closest ancient matches are Germany Late Medieval Ashkenazi Jew Erfurt (Western Profile), England High Medieval Tzarfati Jew Norwich and Spain Catalonia Late Medieval Sephardic Jew Tarrega.
Can a DNA test tell me if I am Italian Jewish?
No DNA test can confirm an ethnicity or a nationality. What DNA can show is how similar your genome is to the sampled Italian Jewish average and to its neighbours. If you have G25 coordinates, paste them in the comparison box on this page to check that for free.
Which ExploreYourDNA report suits Italian Jewish ancestry?
Am Yisrael – Jewish Diaspora Report is the report built for this heritage, and its reference panel fits the Italian Jewish average closely. Your own DNA may differ from the average, so the free Report Finder checks every report against your file before you buy.
Where does the data on this page come from?
From the averaged Global25 (G25) coordinates of the sampled individuals: genetic distances to other modern and ancient population averages, and a non-negative least-squares model against deep ancestral reference populations. The full method is described at https://www.exploreyourdna.com/populations#method.