The former synagogue area of Santarém is documented through the Costumes de Santarém, one of the main legal texts connected to the medieval town. The text refers to Jews taking an oath in the synagogue while holding the Torah, before the arrabi, the royal justice, or the inquiridores.

Synagogue and Legal Procedure

This reference shows that the synagogue was a recognized place of Jewish religious authority and legal procedure. It was not only a place of prayer. It also functioned as a communal setting where formal acts could be performed before Jewish and royal officials.

The mention of the Torah in the oath is especially important. It links the legal act to Jewish ritual authority and shows how the institutions of the Jewish commune operated within the wider judicial framework of medieval Santarém.

Former Synagogue Area of Santarém

The synagogue is associated with the medieval Judiaria of Santarém. Its main axes included Rua de S. João de Alpram and Rua Nova da Judiaria. These streets correspond to the present area of Rua Maestro Luís da Silveira and Travessa da Judiaria, on the eastern side of the Marvila plateau.

The exact building of the synagogue has not been identified. For this reason, this pin marks the former synagogue area of Santarém, within the documented limits of the medieval Judiaria, close to the streets where the Jewish community lived, traded, and organized its communal life.

After 1497

After the forced conversion of Portuguese Jews in 1497, the former Judiaria was gradually absorbed into the Christian urban fabric of Santarém. In later documentation, the old Jewish quarter appears under the name of Santa Cruz.