Together with Monsanto and Sortelha, Belmonte is one of the historical towns of Portugal. It was the cradle of Pedro Alvares Cabral, the first European navigator to set feet in Brazil and because of that the village hosts the Museum of the Discoveries. But the most curious and interesting fact is that Belmonte is home of an important community of Sephardi Jews who established here in the XVth century to freely express their faith, after a law implemented by king D. Manuel enforcing the Jews to become Christians. While walking around the town the Jews coming from other parts of the world (probably Israel) to visit Belmonte (perhaps their relatives or to find more about their roots?) were noticed. It was also possible to hear the songs in a celebration at the Mosque. Judging from the number of beautiful stone house available for sale, it seemed that many of them wanted to depart, following the call of Israel.
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