Leiria

The Jewish presence in Leiria must be prior to the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, may possibly trace its roots to the Islamic presence and domination from the 8th century. The existence of a Jewish community in this city located in the centre of Portugal has been proven with written evidence for the beginning of the 13th century, when a commune was established outside its walls.

Despite the expulsion and forced conversion at the end of 15th century, the Jewish quarter of Leiria is still noticeable in the urban environment, composed of interlinked buildings around the synagogue, baths and other roads.

Here is the typography of the Jewish family Orta, dating from the 15th century and one of the oldest in Portugal. Leiria was already at that time, an important paper production centre.

Samuel de Orta and his three children printed several books in Hebrew.

In 1496, the famous book Almanach Perpetuum of the mathematician and astronomer Abraão Zacuto (1450-1522) was printed in this workshop under the patronage of King D. João II, a fundamental book for the advances in navigation during the Portuguese Discoveries period.

Leiria still has the memories associated with the poet and New-Christian Francisco Rodrigues Lobo (1580-1622), whose statue is at Jardim Luís de Camões and of Father Joaquim Carreira (1908-1981), who received the title of "Righteous Among the Nations" by Yad Vashem, the Holocaust Memorial in Jerusalem, for having saved dozens of people of Jewish origin during Second World War.

This memory, the community and the printing works can be found in the Leiria Intercultural Dialogue Centre, which presents an evocative exhibition of coexistence between different religions in the Portuguese Middle Ages, about the Book and the Sacred Texts' significance.