Belmonte (Portugal)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Belmonte
Flag of Belmonte
Municipal flag
Coat of arms of Belmonte
Municipal coat of arms
Location of Belmonte
Location  
 - Country Flag of Portugal Portugal
 - Region Centro
 - Subregion Cova da Beira
 - District or A.R. Castelo Branco
Mayor Amândio Melo
 - Party PS
Area 118.8 km²
Population
 - Total 7,662
 - Density 65/km²
No. of parishes 5
Coordinates 40º21'N 7º21'W
Municipal holiday
April 26
Website: http://www.cm-belmonte.pt/

Belmonte (pron. IPA: [bɛɫ'mõt(ɨ)]) is a municipality in Portugal. It has a total area of 118.8 km² and a total population of 7,662 inhabitants.

The municipality is composed of five parishes and is located in the district of Castelo Branco.

The present mayor is Amândio Manuel Ferreira de Melo, elected by the Socialist Party.

The municipal holiday is April 26.

Belmonte is also the birth place of Pedro Álvares Cabral, the navigator who discovered the land of Vera Cruz, now Brazil. Located in the Church of Santa Maria are the iconic image statue of Nossa Senhora da Esperança (Our Lady of Hope), which accompanied Cabral in his voyage. The image was, until 1834, in the Monastery of Nossa Senhora da Esperança, now transformed in a modern charm hotel.

[edit] Belmonte Jews

Belmonte is home to the last remaining community of marranos (known as ‎Belmonte Jews) who officially returned to Judaism in the 1970s, and opened a synagogue in 1996. In 2003, the Belmonte Project was founded under the auspices of the American Sephardi Federation, in order to raise funds to acquire Judaic educational material and services for the community (which now numbers 160-180). In the summer of 2006, the American Sephardi Federation ceased to have the Belmonte Project under its auspices.

A Jewish Museum of Belmonte (Museu Judaico de Belmonte) opened on 17 April, 2005.

[edit] Parishes

  • Belmonte (formerly Santa Maria and São Tiago, extinct in 1831)
  • Caria
  • Colmeal da Torre
  • Ínguias
  • Maçaínhas

[edit] External links


This Portugal location article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
v • d • e
Municipalities of the District of Castelo Branco
Flag of Portugal