Jewish Legacy in Portugal

Set out on a journey of discovery through towns, cities and villages, of a heritage rich in memories evoking the Jewish presence in Portugal.

Although there are some earlier references, it was between the 5th and 15th centuries that the Sephardic Jewish community, or Iberian Peninsula Jews, settled in the territory that is now Portugal contributing in the most diverse ways to Portuguese culture. Protected by the Kings, many of its members, amongst whom were philosophers, humanists, scientists and merchants, but also more common tradesmen, such as cobblers, tailors and weavers, participated actively in various significant moments of Portuguese history, in particular the foundation of Portuguese nationality and the settlement of the land, and later contributed financially and scientifically to the Age of the Discoveries. An important figure was the great 16th century mathematician and cosmographer, Pedro Nunes, who invented the nonius, a navigational aid.

In 1496, the Edict of Expulsion of the Jews from Portugal obliged them to convert to Catholicism and become New Christians. Many left the country, but many others remained and secretly kept their faith, forming the so-called marranos or crypto-Jews. The symbolic marks and inscriptions of those times can still be seen carved in the houses of former Jewish quarters, whose traces survive in places like Trancoso, Belmonte, Guarda and Castelo de Vide.

Rua Nova (New Street), Rua Direita (Straight Street), Rua da Estrela (Star Street) or Espinosa are examples of names which indicate the former existence of a Jewish quarter. If you look at the houses, you will see a large door on the ground floor giving access to the store and a narrower one to enter the residence, located on the upper floor. They demonstrate the importance given by the Jews to trade. In some you can still see the slot for the “Mezuzah” (a parchment with words from the Torah, which according to Jewish faith should be placed on the right hand side of the doorframe).

One of the first printed works in the country was an edition of the Pentateuch, by Samuel Gacon, published in 1487 in Faro. Today there are several museums focusing on the Jewish presence in Portugal, such as in Castelo de Vide, Belmonte, Faro and Tomar, the latter housed in a 15th century former synagogue. It is also quite easy to discover the history of Portuguese Jews by following the Jewry Route, a testimony to the encounter between peoples and cultures, which we are proud to preserve.

In their Diaspora, the Jews also disseminated the Portuguese language and culture. During World War II, Portugal welcomed many thousands of Jews escaping Nazi persecution. Their existence has been legal in Portugal since 1912, and today the Jewish community has synagogues in Lisbon, Porto, Trancoso and Belmonte.

Find more information at:
- Portuguese Network of Jewish Quarters - Sepharad Routes: www.redejudiariasportugal.com

-The Porto synagogue is the largest in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the most beautiful Jewish houses of worship in the world. It is open for tourist visits from Sunday to Friday, by prior arrangement:

- Website: comunidade-israelita-porto.org
- Facebook: facebook.com/tourism.synagogue.porto
- Paths of Faith brochure

- http://www.visitportugal.com/

From February 26th to March 5th don't miss the Carnival in Madeira

Carnival officially begins on the Friday before Lent and only ends on Shrove Tuesday, with the whole island being caught up in the intense and contagious liveliness.

The Carnival festival in Madeira is one of the region’s liveliest festivals. Funchal city wakes up on the Friday morning to the sound of brass bands and carnival parades bringing their good humour to the whole of the downtown area, which is then continued at night with concerts and shows in the Praça do Município for five consecutive days.

On Saturday night, it’s time for the great procession of floats to come out into the street. After following their traditional route through the city, they concentrate in the Praça do Município, where there is much singing and dancing in a magical atmosphere of music and merrymaking.

On the day of the Carnival itself (Shrove Tuesday), Funchal explodes in a great outpouring of merriment. In the afternoon, irreverent merrymakers from all over the world parade in front of the crowd who are in turn infected by this atmosphere of playful caricature - it is time for the popular parade. Throughout this period, the streets of Funchal are decorated with patterns of lights and inundated with background music alluding to the Carnival period. Let this contagion infect you, too! 

For further Information visit
- http://www.visitmadeira.pt/carnaval
- http://www.visitmadeira.pt/
- http://www.visitportugal.com/Carnival in Madeira

Porto Airport once again voted 3rd best in Europe

Porto Airport was once again the recipient of an ACI-Airports Council International* award, as third best European airport. 

The three recipient airports in Europe were Moscow, Zurich and Porto. Keflavik and Malta came in fourth and fifth respectively.

This award is the result of ANA’s overall effort to create awareness and push its in-house resources and service providers to continually improve customer service quality.

“We were proud to be chosen by our passenger as one of the three best airports in Europe. This is our eight award in the past eight years and is particularly relevant to us at a time when Porto airport reached the 6.4 million passengers”, said Jorge Ponce de Leão, Chairman of ANA.

Porto airport was in the top three between 2006 and 2011 and was voted by passengers as the best European Airport in 2007.

At an international level this is yet another positive factor for the Porto region, also recently voted best European Tourist Destination.  

Airport Service Quality (ASQ) is a world class customer service benchmarking tool, and of great importance to airport management world wide. The results are based on passenger surveys, representing their views on 34 key indicators, namely services provided, waiting times, courtesy, cleanliness and comfort.

*ACI – Airports Council International is the only global trade representative of airports. ACI Europe represents 450 airports in 44 countries, responsible for over 90% of air traffic in Europe and for over 1.5 billion passenger a year. 

More information at:
- http://www.ana.pt/
- http://www.aci.aero/News
- http://www.ana.pt/Porto

Source: ANA 

The new 2014 Music Season at the Palace of Queluz

The new 2014 Music Season at the Palace of Queluz – Tempest and Galanterie – has just been announced. The artistic director will be Massimo Mazzeo, from the Portuguese Centre of 18th-Century Musical Studies (DS-CESP) and the programme for the season, which begins on 8 March, will consist of two cycles, Carnival and Autumn, involving a total of 11 concerts. Works by Beethoven, Bach, Mozart and Mendelssohn, among others, will be presented, in what Massimo Mazzeo describes as a “reconciliation between different atmospheres of culture, whether seen from a historical point of view or through present-day cultural programming.”

António Lamas, President of the Board of Directors of Parques de Sintra, has spoken of his satisfaction at being able to “bring 18th-century music back to the National Palace of Queluz, linking the Palace’s name to a musical season of the highest quality”, which will include such names as Ronald Brautigam, Alexander Lonquich, Thalia Ensemble, Pedro Burmester, Jos van Immerseel and the Gulbenkian Orchestra among others.

Massimo Mazzeo stresses that “the season does not seek to be speculative or populist in any way and is also intended to provide an opportunity for the presentation of new Portuguese musical ensembles, recognised for their work, as well as for the originality and intelligence of their musical proposal.”

Download the programme here.

Information:(+351) 21 923 73 00
comercial@parquesdesintra.pt
www.parquesdesintra.pt

Source: Parques de Sintra

The restoration of the Grand Hall of the Palace of Pena is now complete

Salão Nobre, Palácio da Pena ©Parques de Sintra

The project, which involved an investment of 262,500 euros over three years, consisted of the overall refurbishment of the infrastructures, the repair and correction of the flooring and the restoration of the wooden and stucco cladding of the walls and ceiling. It also involved the restoration of the chandeliers, the stained-glass windows and the furniture specially commissioned by King Fernando, including pieces that are normally kept in reserve and the porcelain objects. Based on historical information and the support of consultants, an attempt was made to return the Hall to its original state. In conducting historical research, the project had the support of the analyses made of materials by the José de Figueiredo Laboratory (General Directorate for Cultural Heritage – DGPC).

The need to undertake repair and restoration work in the Grand Hall of the Palace of Pena was already an urgent affair, given the condition in which the room found itself, particularly the poor state of the flooring, stained-glass windows and badly conserved porcelain pieces, the deteriorated state of the stucco work (which was already beginning to disappear), the furniture that had lost most of its original colour and the infrastructures that were completely out-of-date given the Palace’s present-day needs.

Among the project’s more innovative or original features are, for example, the fact that it took a month to find the original colour of the walls through chromatic analysis undertaken in the laboratory; the placement of LED strips outside the windows so that the stained-glass panes can be observed at night-time; the adoption of an innovative fire detection system involving continuous suction of the air (with constant analysis of the CO2 parameters) and without the need to place special boxes on the ceiling; the use of LED light bulbs not only in order to reduce energy consumption and prevent fires, but also so as not to cause deterioration of the palace’s collection (due to the absence of UV rays); and the four days that were needed to reposition the chandelier after its restoration and to reassemble the statues of the “Turks”.

The linings of the walls and ceiling (with both smooth and relief stucco work) were treated using the original techniques and materials. They were thoroughly cleaned, followed by an extensive and complex restoration of their original colour (after painstaking research).

The flooring was completely repaired and restored, with interventions taking place at the level of its structure and its surface, and the introduction of new infrastructures. This process included removing a significant part of the wooden floor for the purposes of disinfestation and in order to strengthen the supports of the beams in the walls, as well as to replace the deteriorated areas.

All the furniture was completely restored, particularly the footstools and ottomans, in order to faithfully reproduce the original upholstery. Dating from the 19th century, this consists of goatskin dyed with a natural red colour, according to the analysis made of pieces of the original material by the Leather Industries Technological Centre.

The decorative objects, such as the Asian porcelains, were also submitted to conservation and restoration work, in an attempt to reproduce their exact appearance in the time of King Fernando.

The restoration of the lighting (the chandelier and the four torches held by “Turks”) was one of the main features of the project. These were all completely dismantled and cleaned; and, once the rust had been removed and their surface stabilised, they were protected and fitted with special light bulbs.

The restoration of the stained-glass windows also included the repair of the frames, the consolidation of the lead calms, and the treatment of cracks and gaps in the colouring.

The Calabash Stairs and the Entrance Hall were also restored, the former intervention involving a full restoration of the decorative painting (which was almost completely erased) and the correction of the natural ventilation, while, in the latter space, work was largely centred on the restoration of the moulded stucco panels.

The intervention also included complete alterations to the infrastructures, which involved placing the electric sockets in floor boxes (instead of in the walls) and thus removing all wires from view; the lighting was designed to be adapted to various uses of the room, based on LED technology; and the natural ventilation was improved through grilles placed in the ceiling and roof and simple ventilators.

More information about Pena Palace at:
- http://www.parquesdesintra.pt/park-and-national-palace-of-pena
- http://www.visitportugal.com/Palácio Nacional da Pena
- http://www.visitportugal.com/Discovering Sintra

Source: Parques de Sintra

The perfect green at Madeira Island

Like an eternal Spring, Madeira is a golf destination par excellence all year round. Two different islands boast three magnificent golf courses and accommodation, leisure and well-being offerings which delight any golfer.

The climate is mild throughout the year, the untouched nature offers clean air and unforgettable walks, the cuisine is rich in tradition-steeped flavours. Here, you will not be short of choices for a memorable holiday. And it is just a few hours by plane from Europe.

The tradition of golf on this Island dates back to 1937, when the Englishmen Miles, Leacock and Blandy built the first nine-hole golf course. You can practise on one of two courses, Palheiro Golf and Santo da Serra Golf Club, with 18 and 27 holes respectively, both notable for the beauty of their surrounding landscape.

Porto Santo Golf, located on the Island of the same name, 40km from Madeira, is a 27-hole course, designed by the famous golfer Severiano Ballesteros. With 9km of beach and limpid waters, the island of Porto Santo invites you for a dive after a round.

The Madeira Island Open is Included in Madeira’s golf tournament programme, and is part of the PGA European Tour. It is the most important golf tournament held annually in Spring in the region.

Currently, Madeira has all the facilities to welcome golfers of every handicap, including prime quality accommodation, which makes the islands a paradise for the lovers of the sport who will not fail to delight in the challenge of each hole and the surrounding scenery.

More info about Golf in Madeira at:
- http://www.visitportugal.comMadeira
- http://www.madeiraislandsgolf.travel
- http://visitmadeira.pt/Golf

Cristiano Ronaldo opens the CR7 Museum in Madeira

©Museu CR7

The museum devoted to the international Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo is open to the public. The Museum exhibits his collection of trophies, including the 2008 and 2013 Ballon d'Or awards.

The Museum is located at Rua Princesa D. Amélia, 10, and it is open from Monday to Saturday, from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m.

The displayed pieces include the many CR7’s trophies, the insignia as Grand Officer of the Order of Infante Dom Henrique awarded to the  player last month by the President of the 

Portuguese Republic, a  retrospective of his career and a life-size wax figure of the player.

This museum, which represents an important new addition to Madeira’s museum scene, is already a success in terms of influx of visitors and allows all fans to get to know a little closer the career of one of the best footballers in the World.

For further information, visit the official Facebook fan page of the CR7 Museum

Source: Turismo da Madeira