Constructed in 1096 as the private mansion of the wealthy brothers, Jacob and Eliezer Nefussi, the building was rented by the Jewish community after the Great Fire of 1917 to house things salvaged from the destroyed Italia Yashan Synagogue. The synagogue, founded around 1423 by Italian Jews who were settled in the city, was the second most important one after Talmud Torah. In 1931, the Community bought the building and established the Joseph Isaac Nissim School. The school was one of the most important institutions in Thessaloniki since Hebrew, Judaism and Jewish history were the main subjects. It is estimated that at the outbreak of WWII it had 344 students and 7 tutors. During the occupation, the building was requisitioned by the Nazis. After the liberation in 1945 and until 1974, it hosted an elementary school, while from 1974 to 1983, it housed the Drama School of the State Theater of Northern Greece.