NOV 1 Guarda, Portugal

 We left Belmonte for Guarda. This town is at about 3400' in elevation and about 40N latitude (about the same as Harrisburg, PA). It has one of the coolest climates in Portugal, frequently gets below freezing in the winter and temperatures in the 90sF are uncommon even in July and August. 

In the first image you can see a lot of our group were wearing cold weather clothes. It rained some that morning and it was quite a bit cooler than the weather earlier in the tour. George didn't bother with an overcoat and neither did I as we warm up a lot while walking. 
 

In the second image, George is standing in front of the Cathedral of Guarda (Se de Guarda). This building took about 150 years to build (it also required demolition of older cathedrals on this site dating back several hundred years earlier). It was begun in 1390 under John I (a.k.a., Joio I) However, the statue is of Sancho I who was the reigning King of Portugal from 1185 to 1217 and who had an earlier Cathedral built at the site). Perhaps the current Cathedral's best claim to fame, other than the long time of construction, is that it combines Gothic (e.g., in this case the many buttresses, narrow windows and bulky structure) and Manueline (e.g., in this case the little figures along various walls).

The rest of the time in Guarda was a lesson in semiotics (the study of signs and symbols in communication).  Our local guide was a resident of Guarda and had evidently done considerable reading and original analysis. In the third image, you see a symbol near a door. The symbol is comprised of, apparently, various crosses but according to our guide it symbolizes several Jewish themes while ostensibly using the cross.

Similarly, in the fourth image, there are a number of symbols.








In the fifth image members of our group (George in the foreground) are in an area that was, per the research, a Jewish square.  




 




The sixth image is the entrance to what was, per the research, once a synagogue. 




The seventh image shows a sign placed by a Jewish research society that indicates that this area was once part of the Jewish Quarter. 

The eighth image shows the six pointed star on the plaza.

This has only been done in the past 10 years or so and it indicates that there is considerable confidence in the identification of the Jewish Quarter of Guarda.

What isn't clear is when and why the symbols  were placed near the doors. Was it done just after the forced conversion when people forced to convert could reasonably hope to revert to Judaism or later during the Inquisition? Was it done to help New Christians identify each other or was it done to help non-New Christians stay away from these homes or was it done under compulsion?  

Finally from the internet are two images. 

The first is the Guarda Cathedral in snow (from hiveminer.com).

 The second (from dreamstime.com) is a view of Guarda from a nearby hill. You can tell the Cathedral is at the top of the city streetscape.