There are probably no more than 50 or 60 Jews resident in the Algarve today – expats from around the world, mainly, but of course hundreds more visit the region every year, attracted by the sunshine, the golf, the laid-back lifestyle and the charm of both its unspoilt inland villages and glitzy beach resorts.

It was the ambition of one man, South African Ralf Pinto, who had lived in the Algarve for more than 20 years, to bring the local Jews together. He developed a Jewish Heritage Centre in the region's capital, Faro, which ......