Aldeias Históricas de Portugal

Villages

Gato Preto House

Trancoso

Trancoso

Gato Preto or Lion of Judah House is one of the greatest Jewish legacies in Trancoso. Its most striking features are carvings on the main façade that some authors interpret as being the gates of Jerusalem, a pelican, four faces, a sloth or figure of a Jew entering the synagogue and the Lion of Judah. No one knows the provenance of these elements. They were only put there in the mid-19th century after the end of the Inquisition in Portugal.