During the Inquisition, "New Christians" etched crosses on their doorposts to prove to their neighbors their commitment to Christianity – though many continued to practice Judaism covertly. Before Portugal's Jewish expulsion edict of 1496, as much as one-fourth of the country's population was Jewish. In Belmonte, the centuries-old Jewish community went into hiding before 1500. However, unlike most hidden Jewish communities throughout Portugal and the New World, Belmonte's isolated community maintained its Marrano identity for 500 years. Belmonte has the only significant Jewish community on the Iberian Peninsula that survived the Inquisition. Today in Belmonte, approximately 80 former Marranos still live among the narrow, cobblestone lanes of the medieval Jewish quarter, where the many carved doorpost crosses remind them of their ancestors' struggles. These days, Jews fasten mezuzot on their doorposts instead, reconnecting with their ancient faith.