The Casa do Gato Preto Trancoso, also known as the Casa do Leão de Judá, is one of the most distinctive buildings connected to the Jewish memory of Trancoso. It stands in the historic centre, in the area of Largo Luís de Albuquerque, within the wider urban landscape associated with the former Judiaria.

Medieval Structure and Later Alterations

The house has medieval roots, visible above all in its interior architecture. However, the building was altered in later centuries, and its present façade belongs mainly to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The name Casa do Gato Preto comes from a carved wooden cat inside the building, painted black. The name Casa do Leão de Judá refers to one of the most visible carved symbols associated with the façade.

Casa do Gato Preto Trancoso and Its Carved Reliefs

The most important elements are the carved reliefs placed on the façade. They include the so-called Gate of Jerusalem, a dove, a representation traditionally interpreted as a Jew entering a synagogue, and the Lion of Judah.

The Gate of Jerusalem relief once carried the inscription “Fez Lopo 1530”. Today, only part of the inscription remains visible, reading approximately “F..Lop”.

Jewish Memory and Documentary Caution

The origin of these carved elements is not securely established. Studies on Trancoso’s Jewish heritage indicate that they were probably placed on the façade in the mid-nineteenth century, after the end of the Portuguese Inquisition, during one of the architectural enlargements of the house.

The building has been associated with a Jewish family and, in some interpretations, with the rabbi of the community. This attribution should be treated with caution. The secure facts are the medieval origin of the house, the later façade, the carved wooden cat inside the building, and the set of façade reliefs that made the Casa do Gato Preto Trancoso central to the local Jewish memory.