Credit: António Pita, Mayor of Castelo de Vide and Associação Rede de Judiarias (Facebook)
On March 16th, the municipality of Castelo de Vide inaugurated the “Casa da Inquisição - The Inquisition Experience”, an interactive experience that uses augmented reality to transport visitors to the times of the Inquisition, reproducing the environments and procedures of the time.
The experience is installed at Casa do Morgado, a 17th-century house with historic-architectural value. The municipality is known for having housed the Jewry of Castelo de Vide, where there was an intense Jewish life. It is estimated that in 1492 around 3,000 Jews arrived from Spain - and were welcomed by the local Jews.
The creation of the museum is part of a municipal strategy to diversify the tourist offer in the region, whose main visitors are from Spain, the United States and Israel. According to António Pita, Mayor of Castelo de Vide and Associação Rede de Judiarias, “With this museum we want to increase tourist flows and the hotel occupancy rate, but, on the other hand, we also want to contribute so that schools can do a correct and attractive approach to the Inquisition in Portugal.”
The inauguration of the “Casa da Inquisição - The Inquisition Experience” also featured the presentation of the book " Judeus de Elvas. Linhagens e Relações de Parentesco XVI-XVII", by João Manuel Brás and Nuno Borrego, which received support from the Jewish Community of Porto for its production.
