- Belmonte (Portugal)
Infobox_Municipality_pt
official_name = Belmonte
image_coat_of_arms = BMT.png
Region = Centro
Subregion =Cova da Beira
District = Castelo Branco
Mayor_name = Amândio de Melo
Mayor_party = PS
area_total = 118.8
population_total = 7,662
population_density = 65
Parishes = 5
coor = 40º21'N 7º21'W
params = 40_21_N_7_21_W
occasion =
day =April 26
website = http://www.cm-belmonte.pt/Belmonte (pron. IPA2|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, nowBrazil . 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.Belmonte Jews
Belmonte is home to the last remaining community of
marrano s (known as Belmonte Jews ) who officially returned toJudaism in the1970s , and opened asynagogue in1996 . In2003 , theBelmonte Project was founded under the auspices of theAmerican Sephardi Federation , in order to raise funds to acquire Judaic educational material and services for the community (which now numbers 160-180). AJewish Museum of Belmonte ("Museu Judaico de Belmonte") opened on17 April ,2005 . In the summer of2006 , the American Sephardi Federation ceased to have the Belmonte Project under its auspices.Parishes
* Belmonte (formerly Santa Maria and São Tiago, extinct in 1831)
* Caria
* Colmeal da Torre
* Ínguias
* MaçaínhasExternal links
* [http://www.cm-belmonte.pt Town Hall official website]
* [http://www.americansephardifederation.org/PDF/newsletter/spring2003.pdf American Sephardi Federation newsletter] , Spring 2003
* [http://www.flickr.com/photos/vitor107/sets/1707164/ Photos from Belmonte]
* [http://www.forward.com/articles/12391/ After 500 Years in Hiding, Jews Bring Prosperity to Iberian Town]
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