The synagogue (from the Greek: "house of assembly") represents the most important community structure of Judaism since the destruction of the 2nd Temple of Jerusalem under Titus in 70 A.D. However, it is commonly believed that its origins date back to the exile in Babylon, following the destruction of the 1st Temple (Nebuchadnezzar, 586 B.C.) and there is no doubt of its spread following the return to Israel (538 B.C.).
After its total destruction, the Sanctuary of Jerusalem remained in the memory of the Jewish People as a symbol of the loss of their national identity; many of its functions were transferred to the synagogue, while others were expressly prohibited (sacrifice, for example, which was substituted by prayer). Since the 2nd century A.D. the synagogue became the centre of daily life for Jews as a space of devotion and for the reading, study and teaching of the Torah.
While the Temple of Jerusalem was never rebuilt, any Jewish settlement was home to at least one synagogue.

The architecture of the synagogue is influenced primarily by the socio-cultural context in which it is constructed. There are no particular regulations for its external appearance, though the interior is subject to a number of rules dictated by rabbis over the course of the centuries. However, a number of common elements can be found in the synagogues of various Diaspora communities.
Numerous sources testify to the importance of water for bathing or ritual ablutions to be made before any liturgical acts, though it is obvious that it was not always possible to construct near a source of natural water (the sea, a river, a well). This was corrected by inserting cisterns and ponds that could also be used for other purposes, located in proximity to the entrance to the building.
An observation of the first synagogues whose remains exist to this day reveals the presence of entrances oriented towards Jerusalem (to the East in the Mediterranean), a practice that appears to have been abandoned when the Holy Ark containing the Torah, a portable temple, was fixed to the Eastern wall. It is also written that the entrance must be preceded by a space (atrium, portico or other) that creates a buffer between daily life and the sacred world. For this reason, rabbis held that its was best to enter and approach the ark with a sign of respect that was not direct, but gradual.

The structure was modified and enlarged during the following centuries during a significant renovation at the beginning of the 4th century; the signs of its abandonment can be dated back to some time in the 5th century.
The monument that exits today is composed of a series of spaces placed along the east-west axis covering an area that measures 23.5 x 36.6 metres, overlooking a corridor, perpendicular to the road that provides access to the building.
Originally the synagogue was composed of a large rectangular hall with a curved end, preceded by an entry rendered monumental by four columns that created an intermediate passage between the rectangular space (vestibule), located transversally with respect to the hall, and the hall itself.
Benches lined the three walls, while the far end was home to the tevah, the pulpit from which prayers were recited.
This layout was transformed, perhaps in the second half of the 2nd century, by the creation of partitions that would have changed the use of the vestibule. The construction of a low waterproof basin, connected with the nearby well and cistern, was most likely a space of bathing and ablution and/or for ritual aspersions (miqwè).

For this reason, these hydraulic structures were not in contrast with the proximity to the sea and are, perhaps, evidence of the introduction of different rituals.
The spaces of the synagogue that are visible today reflect the transformations of the building during the 4th century, when the complex was enlarged by creating a new corridor-like entry, with an elbow-shaped access; the closure of the space between the main building and the residential structure to the west created an ulterior vast environment with counters along the exterior walls. In one of the spaces of the original vestibule a kitchen was created with an oven and spaces for underground food storage, while an aedicule was constructed inside the main hall to house the scrolls of the Law (The Torah), known in Hebrew as aron ha-qodesh (the Holy Ark). This highly articulated structure created a new fundamental centre of interest during the liturgy inside the hall; composed of a semicircular wall preceded by two small columns with brackets that support a beam decorated with a menorah (the seven armed candelabra) flanked by a sho far (goat's horn) and a lulav and etrog (one of the three species accompanied by a yellow citron). The walls are finished with decorated marble panels.