Jewish Heritage - Castelo de Vide and Marvão
This Tour is a Full-day visit to Castelo de Vide and Marvão in which we can highlight the Jewish faith.
The Serra de S Mamede is located in the North of Alentejo, made of granite, super green and a National Park. Here we have Castelo de Vide, a secret of the Alentejo. We begin our visit at D Pedro V Square where we can visit the huge Church of NS da Devesa. We´ll walk between Renaissance buildings towards the Castle. We enter the Castle and we can visit a Museum dedicated to Salgueiro Maia, the hero of our 1974 Revolution. If we have the energy we can climb the Keep to see the Village from above and the impressive mountain range. We leave Castle and visit the Medieval Village with its Gothic portals. The Synagogue is a must-see and there are several portals where we can still find the Mezuzah. We´ll go down to a beautiful 16th century fountain. Nearby we have an old Palace now transformed into the Inquisition Museum. Here we'll find several scenes where the dark times of the Inquisition are recreated. A very interesting but dramatic museum, it's important that we don't forget the past. We can have lunch in Castelo de Vide.
With more energy we set off for Marvão, which is 10 km (6 miles) away. Marvão is a 2500 year old fortification on top of a hill. Today we have a 17th century Bulwark fortification surrounding a Medieval Castle and Town. In Marvão we can visit the Medieval Islamic Castle with several lines of walls and gates. Here we also have a beautiful medieval cistern. The views from the top of the Keep are impressive, overlooking the Serra de S Mamede and Spain. In the Church of Santa Maria we'll find the Municipal Museum with an interesting collection. Walking through the medieval streets of Marvão we'll find Gothic portals, local artisans working and we can visit the old Jail.
On the outskirts of Marvão we have a set of enormous lime kilns. Nearby we'll find a bridge guarded by a medieval tower. Tolls were paid here and it was through here that thousands of Jews fled Spain. In the surroundings of Marvão we also have the Roman City of Ammaia. The oldest archaeological evidence of someone from the Jewish faith was found here.
Many Cultures and Religions passed through the territory that is today Portugal. Our Cultural Identity is very rich because it results precisely from this diversity. Unfortunately for 300 years the Inquisition impoverished Portugal with its persecutions. One of the religions persecuted was Judaism. In the Middle Ages around 10% of the population of the Iberian Peninsula were from the Jewish faith. Probably 500,000 people in Portugal and Spain. Iberia was "Sefarad" or the "distant land" for these people.
The Jews probably arrived in the Iberian Peninsula with the Phoenicians in the Iron Age. The Phoenicians were a group of city-states with different religions and similar languages. In the Roman City of Ammaia, in the Municipality of Marvão, we have the oldest archaeological evidence of the Jewish faith in what is now Portuguese territory. A Roman ringstone depicting the Menorah and other symbols related to the Jewish faith from the 2nd or 3rd century. Jews began to be discriminated against in the Roman Empire when Christianity became the official religion in the 4th century. In the 5th century several Germanic tribes arrived in Iberia including the Visigoths. These Arian Christians ended up conquering the entire Peninsula converting to Catholicism in the 6th century. The persecution against the Jewish faith continued. Only with the arrival of Islam in Iberia, at the beginning of the 8th century, did the Jews enjoy some religious freedom. With the reconquest, persecution returned. In the 15th century the Inquisition was born and in 1492 the Jews were expelled from Spain. D Manuel also ended up expelling them from Portugal in 1496. A third of the Jewish population was effectively expelled or exiled. Two-thirds were forcibly converted to Christianity. The latter became known as New Christians. Some have secretly maintained the traditions of their faith to this day. The Crypto Jews of Belmonte are the best example.
