Castelo de Vide () is a

municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having municipal corporation, corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality' ...

in Portugal, with a population of 3,407 inhabitants in 2011, in an area of .

History

It is unclear when humans settled Castelo de Vide, although archaeologists suggest the decision came from the morphology of the soil and from a territorial strategy to occupy and conquer land. The establishment of a fortification helped fix a new population to the territory and, at the same, functioned as a strategic border fortress. Castelo de Vide became its own municipality in 1276, before which it was part of Marvão. In 1299 Rui de Pina wrote that Castelo de Vide remained a weak stronghold, stating ''"lugar etã mais chão q forte"'' (''the locality is more place then strong''). Afonso Sanches, son of king Afonso III, rebuilt the fortification walls, and his brother King Denis continued the task, with work completed during the reign of King Afonso IV sometime in the 14th century. These changes improved the stronghold's defensive conditions, including moving a well into the interior and a new line of walls protecting the citadel and houses previously outside the walls. A tower keep was constructed flush with the southern walls in order to better defend the southern passage. All these improvements proved useful during Portugal's conflicts with Castile, when

siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while othe ...

s were used. Throughout the 14th century the settlement slowly expanded outside the castle walls. The southern flanks, with good southerly exposure and a gentle slope, allowed easy settlement, while the northern and western exposures expanded later due to wind and steep cliff faces. The growth of the settlement occurred along the main road leading to the castle, and followed the expansion of religious buildings outside the walls. This road bisected two sides of the hill and one side was occupied by a

Jewish quarter Jewish Quarter may refer to: *Jewish quarter (diaspora), areas of many cities and towns traditionally inhabited by Jews *Jewish Quarter (Jerusalem), one of the four traditional quarters of the Old City of Jerusalem *Jewish Quarter (), a popular name ...

inhabited by Jews expelled from Castile and

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. Written documents attest to the existence of Castelo de Vide's Jewish community and quarter throughout the 14th and 15th centuries. The 14th-century Synagogue of Castelo de Vide in Santa Maria da Devesa still stands, and despite Portugal's expulsion of Jews in 1496 was used by

Marrano ''Marranos'' is a term for Spanish and Portuguese Jews, as well as Navarrese jews, who converted to Christianity, either voluntarily or by Spanish or Portuguese royal coercion, during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but who continued t ...

s as a religious sanctuary and school until the 16th century. Today it houses a small museum dedicated to Castelo de Vide's historical Jewish community. Many of the perceptions of the town came from the 16th century drawings of Duarte d'Armas. At that time the settlement was dedicated to agriculture (cultivation of wine grapes, cotton, olives, fruits, and cereals) and raising cattle, while watermills were constructed along the ravines in Vide and Nisa. At the beginning of the 16th century, toward the end of King John III's reign, the wool industry became important in the region. This resulted in Castelo de Vide's inhabitants being referred to as ''Cardadores'' (" carders"). Castelo de Vide had 885 inhabitants in 1527, rising to 1,400 by 1572 and 1,600 by 1603; this population growth resulted from growth in agricultural production, the textile industry, and commerce with Spain. The new ''foral'' ("charter"), issued by King Manuel I in 1512 established new laws for public spaces and set the town's boundaries.

Geography

The municipality is located by the Serra de São Mamede in

Portalegre District Portalegre District ( ) is located in the east of Portugal. The district capital is the city of Portalegre. As of 2021, it is the least populous district of Portugal. It borders Spain. Municipalities The district is composed of 15 municipalit ...

. Administratively, the municipality is divided into 4 civil parishes ('' freguesias''): * Nossa Senhora da Graça de Póvoa e Meadas * Santa Maria da Devesa * Santiago Maior * São João Baptista

Climate

Notable people

* João de Casal (1641–1735), Bishop of Macau *

Garcia de Orta Garcia de Orta (or Garcia d'Orta; 1501–1568) was a Portuguese physician, herbalist, and naturalist, who worked primarily in Goa and Bombay in Portuguese India. A pioneer of tropical medicine, pharmacognosy, and ethnobotany, Garcia used an e ...

(ca.1501 – 1568) a Portuguese Renaissance Sephardi Jewish physician, herbalist and naturalist; a pioneer of

tropical medicine Tropical medicine is an interdisciplinary branch of medicine that deals with health issues that occur uniquely, are more widespread, or are more difficult to control in tropical and subtropical regions. Physicians in this field diagnose and tr ...

pharmacognosy Pharmacognosy is the interdisciplinary scientific study of natural drugs and bioactive compounds from plants, animals, and minerals—originally focused on identifying crude drugs but now expanded to molecular, chemical, ecological, and medicin ...

and

ethnobotany Ethnobotany is an interdisciplinary field at the interface of natural and social sciences that studies the relationships between humans and plants. It focuses on traditional knowledge of how plants are used, managed, and perceived in human socie ...

, working mainly in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

Mouzinho da Silveira José Xavier Mouzinho da Silveira (12 July 1780 in Castelo de Vide – 4 April 1849 in Lisbon) was a Portuguese statesman, jurist and politician, as well as one of the most important personalities of the Liberal Revolution of 1820, responsible for ...

(1780–1849) a statesman, jurist, Portuguese politician and an important player in the

Liberal Revolution of 1820 The Liberal Revolution of 1820 () was a Portuguese political revolution that erupted in 1820. It began with a military insurrection in the city of Porto, in northern Portugal, that quickly and peacefully spread to the rest of the country. The Rev ...

* Salgueiro Maia (1944–1992) a captain in the Portuguese army, he made a significant contribution to the

Carnation Revolution The Carnation Revolution (), code-named Operation Historic Turn (), also known as the 25 April (), was a military coup by military officers that overthrew the Estado Novo government on 25 April 1974 in Portugal. The coup produced major socia ...

Gallery

File:Castelo_de_Vide.jpg, Panorama of Castelo de Vide File:Judiaria_de_Castelo_de_Vide_(4).jpg, Old Jewish quarter of Castelo de Vide File:Sinagoga, Castelo de Vide.jpg, Synagogue of Castelo de Vide File:Castelo_de_Vide1.JPG, Castelo de Vide from afar

References

;Notes ;Sources * * *

External links

Town Hall official websiteSome photographs of Castelo de Vide, taken in 200733 photos of Castelo de Vide
{{Authority control Populated places in Portalegre District Municipalities of Portalegre District People from Castelo de Vide