The city of Porto, that since the beginning of the nation had several Jewish quarters, watched D.João I, in 1386, order the concentration of Jews in the Olival quarter, inside the medieval walls. The new Jewish quarter abutted with two of the doors of that wall, still today referenceable: the one from Olival and the one located in the Escadas da Esnoga (Esnoga Stairs).´

The synagogue was located where today can be found the S.Bento da Vitória convent. During medieval times, Porto was the headquarters of one of seven Jewish autonomous justice administration structures in the country; the one from Entre Douro e Minho.

Already at the time of the new Christians, these, mainly associated with mercantile bourgeoisie and maritime business, are forced to settle in S. Miguel Street, main axis of the quarter. A few years ago was here discovered the secret Synagogue (ns. 9-11) whose Hejal is now preserved and visitable.

The writer and intelectual from Porto Immanuel Aboab (1555-1628) refered, after having emigrated, to the memory of going praying at this synagogue with his parents as a child. He was the great-grandchild of the “last gaon (rabbinical authority) of Castela”, Isaac Aboab who, at the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain, negotiated with D.João II the coming to Portugal and to this quarter in Porto of thirty notable castillian families who were welcomed in very favourable conditions by the local City Hall. These houseshad a P carved on the frontand the community was responsible for paving the Rua de S. Miguel (S. Miguel Street) where they had settled.

Distinguished personalities from Porto (who left during the diaspora) were also the philosopher Uriel da Costa (1590- 1647), the founder and first president of the Sephardic Community of Amsterdam, Jacob Tirado (1544-1620), the doctor and parnassim of the community of Hamburg Samuel da Silva (1571-1631), the rabin, doctor, poet and author of Tratado da Imortalidade da Alma (Treaty of the Immortality of the Soul) Abraham Pharar (?-1663) and Bento Teixeira, Luso-Brazillian poet (1561-1618), one of the greatest scholars of his time and author of Presopopeia (epic poem responsible for propagating the Baroque style in Brazil), who died in the dungeons of the Inquisition at age 40.

Three areas have been identified for the settlement of Jews in Porto: the “Judiaria Velha” (old Jewish quarter), in the street of Sant’Ana; the “Judiaria de Monchique” (Monchique Jewish quarter), outside the city’s boundaries; and the “Judiaria Nova do Olival” (New Olival Jewish quarter), inside the city’s walls as well. This last settlement took place in 1386, ordered by king John I, as a safety measure and bringing together the Jews that were scattered in different parts of the city. The area was circumscribed by a fence with two doors: one giving access to the Olival, and another one to Stairs of Esnoga and the road to Belmonte. The houses were built where an olive grove stood, presently comprising the streets of São Bento da Vitória and São Miguel, being laid down in an east-west grid type. The synagogue was in the centre. Thirty families that had been banished from Castille where sheltered here and would suffer a setback, once again, served by the edict of 1496, forcing them either to conversion or expulsion. Once extinct the Jewish quarter of Olival, the houses of Jews refusing conversion were turned over to old Christians. In those that remained occupied by the now-new Christians, many cruciform marks were engraved on the door posts, lintels and basements of the buildings, Christian symbols that replaced the mezuzah. The Monastery of São Bento da Vitória was built on the former land of the Jewish quarter while the synagogue would be transformed into the Nossa Senhora da Vitória Chuch.