The neighbourhood 

By order of King João I in 1386, all Jews in Porto were concentrated in an area within the walled area, on Mount Olival. The Judiaria do Olival was an authentic ghetto and operated for 111 years. It was circumscribed by a fence, opened by two doors: one to the Largo da Porta do Olival, the other to the Escadas da Esnoga (today from Vitória) and to the road to Belmonte.

Occupying an old olive grove, it was urbanized around a main axis, today made up of the streets of São Bento da Vitória and São Miguel, crossed by perpendicular lanes. In the center was the synagogue. After their expulsion from Castile, thirty families were welcomed and assimilated here, which would suffer another setback by the edict of December 1496, which forced them to convert or expel them. Once the Jewish Quarter of Olival was extinguished, the houses of Jews reluctant to convert were handed over to old Christians. In those that remained occupied by the now New Christians, marks – many cruciforms – were engraved on the doorposts, lintels and foundations of the buildings, Christian symbols that replaced the mezuzah. Over part of the old Jewish quarter, the monumental Monastery of São Bento da Vitória was built, while the synagogue was to be transformed into the Church of Nossa Senhora da Vitória.

Nowadays it is a super typical area of ??the city with narrow and shady alleys, with its drying clothes racks, a well-laden northern accent where people greet each other and stop to chat with each other. The old buildings refer to the epithet of the city of work, showing the houses on the upper floors and the shops and/or workshops below. Do not forget the balconies, many balconies, which boast beautiful wrought iron works where clothes are still hanging to dry in the sun. Another part of his life is spent around kitchens: this is a street of unique cafes and restaurants.