A LABYRINTH OF MEMORIES...

Belmonte, one of the 12 historical villages of Portugal, was under my radar for a long time until I visited it last month.

Homeland of medieval heroes and with a tiny Jewish community, it is an open invitation to my appetite for historical villages. On the other hand, it is also the place where Pedro Álvares Cabral was born – the man who (accidentally) discovered Brazil in 1500!

The small town of Belmonte is a historic town that is part of the only peninsular community that is a legitimate heir of the ancient historical presence of the Sephardic Jews.

Crowned by the medieval castle, the town of Belmonte stands out for the beauty of its landscapes and monuments, for its fabulous strategic position, which has made it dominate, from immemorial times, territories and communication routes. 

But Belmonte also knew how to welcome people of other creeds and cultures. Here was established a Jewish Community that survived centuries and centuries, still existing today.

A way of honouring this Community and its History, the Jewish Museum of Belmonte was inaugurated in 2005, the first of the country to address this theme and that became one of the most visited museums in the region, sought by Jews from all over the world.

In town you can also visit the Belmonte Synagogue, inaugurated in 1996, under the name of Bet Eliahu Synagogue.

 Belmonte's old Jewry is dotted with many small granite houses  

I had lunch at a small restaurant

After lunch, I wandered through the myriad of narrow cobbled streets some of which told the stories of many lives...

.... and browsed the shops along but didn't find any particular gem...

Here and there, colourful flowers gave a special touch to the environment as they softened the granite hardness of the house walls...

As I got close to my car I found a cat on the roof of it. Had he been there as if he were a guard cat?

The wrought iron lamp drew my attention and so did the door knockers.

Coming soon .... a visit to another historical village...

~~Thanks for stopping by ~~