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Castelo de Vide, Portalegre District, Portugal
According to Wikipedia; Throughout the 14th century the settlement of Castelo de Vide slowly expanded outside the castle walls. The southern flanks, with good southerly exposure and a gentle slope, allowed easy settlement, while the northern and western exposures expanded later due to wind and steep cliff faces. The growth of the settlement occurred along the main road leading to the castle, and followed the expansion of religious buildings outside the walls. This road bisected two sides of the hill and one side was occupied by a Jewish quarter inhabited by Jews expelled from Castile and Aragon.
Written documents attest to the existence of Castelo de Vide's Jewish community and quarter throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. The 14th-century Synagogue of Castelo de Vide in Santa Maria da Devesa still stands, and despite Portugal's expulsion of Jews in 1496 was used by Marranos as a religious sanctuary and school until the 16th century. Today it houses a small museum dedicated to Castelo de Vide's historical Jewish community.
According to JGuide; The Jews who lived within the walls of the little hilltop town of Castelo de Vide were engaged in the traditional activities of commerce, crafts, and sometimes medicine. The population grew after 1492 with the arrival of Jews from Spain. The former Judaria is fairly easy to identify around the market square (Praço de Comércio). Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries the characteristic little streets led to the small synagogue. A niche, used as a church altar in the seventeenth century, might be a vestige of the aron kodesh. The municipality is currently conducting research into this movingly simple building.
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The best way in which to discover the Castelo de Vide Jewish Quarter is most definitely on foot.
Leaving from the main D. Pedro V square, head along Rua de Santa Maria as far as the Castle. This is the perfect time to take a look around before heading down the North slope (on the left-hand side). Dating back to distant times, the streets you wander feature discreet examples of their antiquity. The medieval lay out of the streets combines with a Jewish influence on their names: Rua da Judiaria (Street of Jews), Rua Nova (New Street), where Jews converting to Christianity lived and were known as new-Christians, Rua do Arçário (Street of Arcades), the source of the community´s wealth and the Rua das Espinosas, named in honour of the 17th century philosopher Spinoza, son of a Castelo de Vide resident.
Take a careful look at the houses in the Jewish Quarter. On the ground floor, two doors connect with the exterior. Normally in granite, one leads into the store where the business was done and the other leads onto stairs leading to the two upper floors which were the living quarters. On the doors that still retain their ogival gothic structure, there are sculpted symbols. On the right doorpost, there are small indents of around 10cm. These are "mezuzot" (plural of "Mezuzah") and clear evidence the Jewish faith was practised. They were used to attach a small parchment that represented a profession of faith. On one side, there was the name of God and on the other the word Shemah was inscribed. Shemah is the name given to the first sentence in the Book of Deuteronomy meaning "listen".
At the crossroads between Rua da Judiaria and Rua da Fonte there is the former synagogue, which served as both a meeting place and school for the Jewish community. According to what is known, through to the 12th century, this was but a modest house before being transformed into a place of worship in the 14th century. In the 16th century, with the order given to expel all Jews, it again returned to being a residence. Within one of the walls, a tabernacle and a receptacle were discovered confirming the building´s former purpose. The tabernacle, divided into two, served to store the sacred manuscripts and the holy oils used in religious ceremonies. The receptacle, to the left, was used to hold the scriptures.
Also in the Jewish quarter, the first house on Rua do Arçário reveals further history. This was home to the midwife or "quencher" as she was called due to her ability to extinguish or renew life. In the upper window, there are still the granite supports for the lines used to hang out the delivery cloths. Only then would those waiting outside learn what was happening inside.
Heading down the north slope, the stroll inevitably ends in a square pleasantly set off by the Town´s fountain. This represented one of the boundaries to the
According to PortugalVisitor.com;
Historically, the Jewish population of both Spain and Portugal (known as Sephardi Jews) suffered great hardships and prejudice, particularly after the Reconquest.
The Inquisition in Portugal was particularly oppressive against "New Christians" (aka conversos or the pejorative marranos)- Jews who had been forced to convert and were suspected of carrying on their old faith in secret. There was also a massacre of Jews in Lisbon during the reign of Manuel I when an estimated 2,000 people were killed by the mob.
Many Portuguese Jews were expelled or fled overseas to London, Amsterdam, Morocco, or even South America. Their departure was a great loss for the country.
One prominent Jew of this period is Garcia de Orta (1501-1568). A physician, naturalist, and herbalist he was mostly active in Goa and considered a father of Western tropical medicine. He was born in Castelo de Vide where he practiced medicine before moving to Lisbon and becoming royal physician to King John III. He left for India in 1534, probably sensing how the wind was blowing at home. Settling in Goa, he again set up a medical practice and served as a physician for both Portuguese and Indians. He was also a friend of the poet Luís de Camões while in India.
After his death in 1568, his sister Catarina was burned at the stake for her Jewish beliefs and in 1580 his remains were also dug up and burned by the vengeful Inquisition in Goa.
He is most remembered for his classic work Colóquios dos simples e drogas he cousas medicinais da Índia, a treatise on medicinal herbs and plants in India.
The Jardim Garcia de Orta in the Parque das Nações district of Lisbon is named after him.
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