Belmonte, Portugal

Belmonte, Portugal

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Belmonte Portugal

Belmonte is a town located in the Castelo Branco district of Portugal. As of 2011, the population was 6,859, spread over an area of 118.76 square kilometers. Belmonte is famous as the birthplace of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the explorer who discovered the land of Vera Cruz, now known as Brazil. Inside the Church of Santa Maria, you can find the iconic statue of Nossa Senhora da Esperança (Our Lady of Hope), which Cabral carried with him on his journey. Until 1834, this statue was housed in the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Esperança. This former religious building has since been converted into a modern boutique hotel. The singer Zeca Afonso spent part of his childhood in Belmonte from 1938 to 1940. He lived with his uncle, who was the mayor of the town, while his parents resided in Mozambique. Belmonte is also home to the last known community of marranos in Portugal, also known as the Belmonte Jews. They officially returned to Judaism in the 1970s and established a synagogue in 1996. In 2003, the American Sephardi Federation initiated the Belmonte Project, aimed at raising funds to procure Judaic educational materials and services for the community, which currently numbers between 160 and 180. They opened the Jewish Museum of Belmonte (Portuguese: Museu Judaico de Belmonte) on April 17, 2005. However, in the summer of 2006, the American Sephardi Federation discontinued its sponsorship of the Belmonte Project.
Recommended airport
Vila Real (VRL)
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