Planícies, Portugal
In the southern plains of Portugal,
the landscape is dotted with white houses.
The region is full of mediaeval walled towns,
within which are be found many interesting
remains of Jewish communities.
- Santar�m
- Castelo de Vide
- Marv�o
- Evora
- Monsaraz
Santarém
A city that was once under
the dominion of the Romans,
Santarém became part of the kingdom
of Portugal in 1147, the date of its conquest
by Dom Afonso Henriques (who reigned from
1139-1185).
From the belvedere of the
garden of Portas do Sol laid out in
the ruins of the ancient castle of this city
standing on the right bank of the river Tagus,
there is a stunning view of the vast sprawling
meadowland of the Ribatejo plain, to which
the typical campinos (horsemen who
tend the cattle) lend a touch of elegant colour
and where the bulls and horses that take part
in the famous Portuguese "Touradas"
(Bullfights) can be seen grazing.
The Jewish quarter of Santarém,
one of the seven regions established by Dom
Dinis (1279-1325) and later confirmed by Dom
Joao I (1385 1433), was located close to the
Rua Direita inside the city gates, where,
mainly in the middle ages, it served as a
stimulus for trade and the holding of the
local fair. After the order was given for
their expulsion in 1496, many Jews remained
in Santarem as New Christians.
Amongst the many beautiful
and diverse monuments of the city, particular
attention is drawn to the Romanesque-Gothic Igreja de Sao Joao de Alporao and the
Flamboyant Gothic Igreja da Graca.
Castelo
de Vide
Spreading over the hillside
around the town's mediaeval castle is an intricate
network of picturesque narrow streets that
once housed a large community of Portuguese
Jews, traces of which have been carefully
preserved until the present day. Despite a
number of references to earlier times, it
was really in the 14th century that this Jewish
quarter began to consolidate itself', stretching
from the Castle to the Fonte da Vila (the
town's granite fountain) and as far as the Rua Nova. The building which is generally
considered to be the old synagogue is located oil the corner of Rua da Judiaria and Rua da Fonte and has recently been
completely restored In addition to the space
set aside for worship and the special compartment
reserved for women, archaeological studies
have permitted the discovery of three silos
on the lower level, dug out of granite and
used for the storage of grain. Next to this
stood the school, with its entrance through
a pointed arch, similar to the two that afford
access to the entrance to the synagogue. Other
buildings, in the same street, formed part
of the complex that housed the civil and religious
services of the local Jews.
After the order was given
for the expulsion in 1496, many Jewish families
remained in Castelo de Vide, converting to
Christianity, and, because of their high intellectual
standing, distinguishing themselves in different
activities. It was here that Garcia da Orta
was born, the author of "Colóquio
dos Simples e Drogas da India," one
of the most important works of medical and
botanical science published in the 16th century.
Marvão
Not far away is Marvão
a walled town with well preserved, traditional
houses, which was once a frontier post through
which many Jews passed as they fled from the
former Iberian kingdoms in the 14th and 15th
centuries On the road to Castelo de Vide,
and before arriving at Portalegre, a brief
stop is recommended at Alpalhao a small Alentejo
town where a number of Mezuzot can be seen attached to the doorposts of a
number of mediaeval houses in the old Jewish
quarter, some with a Cross engraved next to
them, as if to indicate that the owners had
recently converted.
Evora
A city which is itself a
living museum, Evora has a historical center
that has been classified by UNESCO as World
Heritage. The city was conquered from the
Moors in 1165 by Gerald the Fearless (Giraldo
o Sem Pavor, a Christian knight in the
service of the first king of Portugal) and,
by the end of the 15th century, it had one
of the largest Jewish quarters in the country.
Situated inside the city's mediaeval walls,
this Jewish quarter formed a uniform group
of streets and alleyways, containing two synagogues,
the "midrash," the baths, a hospital
and a leper colony. Certain remains of this
Jewish quarter can still be seen in the immediate
surroundings of the present-day Convento
das Mercas and the Museum of Decorative
Arts in Rua de Raimundo and close to Rua dos Mercadores. A commemorative
plaque has been put up in memory of this earlier
presence at Travessa de Cima, at the site
where the gates that led to the Jewish quarter
once stood, and where the humanist and New
Christian Diogo Pires (1517-1559) lived. Other
legacies have also been revealed in this city:
at the Evora Museum, there is a stone with
a Hebraic inscription, dated 1378, as well
as the Inquisition's money-box and bench. The
Court of the Inquisition and the Inquisitor's
Palace stand opposite the Museum building,
still displaying over the doors the coat of
arms of the Holy Office: the Cross flanked
by the Sword and Olive Branch. In Evora Public
Library, there is a rare copy of the 1st Edition
(1496) of the Alinanach Perpetuum" by
Jewish scholar Abraoo Zacuto.
In the old Jewish quarter,
several houses can be seen bearing the remains
of "mezuzot,"
some of them still with the "shema"
carved into them.
Not far from the beautiful Praca do Giraldo, with its 16th century
arcade, there are several other important
monuments- the RomanesqueGothic Cathedral
and its Museum of Sacred Art; the churches
of Sao Francisco and Sdojodo Evangelista (both
built in the Gothic-Manueline style); the
churches of Nossa Senhora da Grap, Santo Antdo
and Sao Vicente (all built in the Mannerist
style); the Archbishop's Palace and the Palaces
of Dom Manuel and the Counts of' Bastos; and
the old university (16th-17th centuries).
Absolutely not to be missed are the Roman
Temple (second century), which has become
tile very symbol of the city and stands next
to the Palace of the Dukes of Cadaval and
the Convento dos Loios, which has been
converted into a Pousada. Ili the surrounding
area of Evora, visitors can allow themselves
the pleasure of going back in time and admiring
some important megalithic remains (the cromlechs
of Almendres).
Monsaraz
Monsaraz is one of the best
preserved mediaeval Portuguese towns, with
its castle and pentagonal keep. The imposing
stone walls of the castle contrast with the
white of the houses contained within them,
dominating the top of the hill and affording
a commanding view over the surrounding landscape
for several miles around. The Jewish quarter
was in the immediate vicinity of the Rua
Direita, close to the Igreja de Santiago original layout of' this historical center
still remains perfectly intact and is dominated
by the parish church (Renaissance and Baroque,
of Gothic origin) in Largo do Pelourinho.
Other impressive sights are the Pacos da
Audiencia (the former mediaeval tribunal
with its 14th century frescoes, depicting
an allegorical scene of true and false justice),
the former Town Hall and the chapel of Santa
Catarina.
Sources: Journey to Jewish Portugal courtesy
of the Portuguese
National Tourist Office |