March 5, 2026
MEDIEVAL JEWISH QUARTER OF ZARAGOZA: A SONIC JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
MEDIEVAL JEWISH QUARTER OF ZARAGOZA: A SONIC JOURNEY THROUGH TIME
Beneath the stones of Zaragoza… there is a secret.
A thousand years of history buried beneath the asphalt.
A thousand years of voices no one wanted to hear.
There was a time when these streets had other names—
when the world’s knowledge was written in Hebrew, in Arabic, in Romance;
when physicians, philosophers, and poets built a civilization
that all of Europe admired… and feared.
They were the Jews of Sepharad.
And they lived here. In Zaragoza. For more than a thousand years.
Until one morning in 1492,
they closed their doors for the last time—
and took the keys with them.
What happened in those streets?
Who were those men and women?
What secrets still sleep beneath the Roman Theatre?
Now, for the first time, their voices return.
Medieval Jewish Quarter of Zaragoza.
A sonic journey through time.
On iVoox.
Narrated by Solomon Ibn Gabirol.
Directed and Produced by Javier Bona López.
Zakhor. Remember.
Serie Description
Immerse yourself with us in the streets, sounds, and stories of one of the most important Jewish communities in medieval Spain.
Welcome to “Medieval Jewish Quarter of Zaragoza”, a podcast series that will transport you to a world lost in time. Guided by our narrator—the poet and philosopher Shelomó ibn Gabirol (1021–1058/70)—we will walk through the narrow streets of Zaragoza’s Jewish aljama, from its roots in Roman Caesaraugusta to its height in the fifteenth century.
This is not just a historical documentary; it is an immersive, sound-driven experience designed to bring back the voices, aromas, and emotions of those who lived in this unique enclave. Each episode is a journey across the centuries, exploring not only major events but also daily life, beliefs, and the passions of its inhabitants.
What will you discover in this series?
• Philosophy and Spirituality: Meet sages such as Bahya Ibn Paquda and his timeless work, Duties of the Heart.
• Stories of Love and Conversion: Discover the extraordinary story of Eleazar, the Carolingian deacon who abandoned everything for love of a Jewish woman.
• Architecture and Urban Planning: Explore the structure of the Old and New Jewish Quarters, their walls, six gates, and synagogues.
• Daily Life: Feel the pulse of the market, the silence of the ritual baths (mikveh), and the solemnity of the rabbinical court (Bet Din).
• Historical Context: From Roman and Visigothic Zaragoza, through Muslim Saraqusta, to the Christian conquest and the Inquisition.
…and much more.
With exceptional historical rigor—based on archival documentation and expert guidance—this series is an act of memory (Zakhor) to honor a legacy that still lives beneath the stones of today’s Zaragoza.
The series “Medieval Jewish Quarter of Zaragoza” revives the city’s Jewish memory on iVoox in podcast format.
The iVoox platform hosts the documentary podcast series “Medieval Jewish Quarter of Zaragoza,” directed and produced by Javier Bona López—an ambitious public-history project that reconstructs, with rigor and immersive storytelling, the life, urban fabric, institutions, and spirituality of Zaragoza’s Jewish community from the Middle Ages to the expulsion of 1492.
Narrated by the historical figure Ibn Gabirol (Shelomó ibn Gabirol, 1021–1058/70), the series combines academic research, archival documentation, and sound recreation to take listeners through the Old Jewish Quarter, the New Jewish Quarter, the Castle of the Jews, the Great Synagogue, the Alcaicería, the mikveh, access gates, festivals such as the Purim of Zaragoza, and major spiritual landmarks such as the Shema.
With historical advising by Miguel Ángel Motis Dolader (Universidad San Jorge, Zaragoza), the series is grounded in documentary sources, specialized bibliography, and recent studies on urban morphology, communal institutions, and coexistence in medieval Zaragoza.
This project belongs to Javier Bona López’s broader effort to recover Jewish memory in Aragón, alongside other series such as Medieval Jewish Quarter of Tarazona, Híjar, and Calatayud, consolidating one of the most comprehensive public-history podcast initiatives on medieval Aragonese Judaism.
The Series Combines (English)
• Historical and documentary research
• Urban and heritage reconstruction
• Immersive first-person narrative
• Sound recreation and dramatization
• Accessible outreach for a broad audience
Project Objectives (English)
• To recover the historical memory of Zaragoza’s Jewish aljama
• To share Zaragoza’s Sephardic/Judeo-Spanish heritage
• To contribute to cultural tourism and heritage education
• To bring medieval history to a general audience through podcasting
• To highlight Zaragoza’s role as one of the great Jewish centers of the Crown of Aragón
Main Thematic Axes (English)
• Urban structure of the Jewish quarter (Old and New Quarters)
• Communal institutions (Bet Din, self-government)
• The Castle of the Jews as a functional center
• The Great Synagogue and religious spaces
• Mikveh and ritual practice
• Gate systems and urban control
• The Alcaicería and the luxury economy
• Spirituality: the Shema, prayer, religious life
• Festivals: Purim of Zaragoza
• Conflicts, pogroms, and expulsion
• Memory, diaspora, and the Sephardic legacy
Methodology (English)
• Use of specialized academic bibliography
• Consultation of historical documentation
• Integration of urban and archaeological studies
• First-person historical narration
• Outreach language with scientific precision
• Archaeological excavations
Target Audience (English)
• General audiences interested in history
• Teachers and students
• Researchers and public historians
• Cultural and heritage tourism
• Sephardic communities and diaspora
• Listeners of historical podcasts
Value of the Series
• A local focus with international reach
• Integration of urban, social, and religious history
• Immersive and emotional format
• Potential for cultural routes, apps, guides, and museum projects
CREDITS (English)
• Narrator: Ibn Gabirol (Shelomó ibn Gabirol)
• Direction and Production: Javier Bona López
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY
Ignacio Javier Bona López is an archaeologist, historian, and cultural communicator. He has dedicated decades to the protection, dissemination, and recovery of Sephardic-Jewish heritage in Aragón, especially in Tarazona and Calatayud. For many years he served as President of the Centro de Estudios Turiasonenses, and he has been a coordinator of branches of the Institución Fernando el Católico, as well as Managing Director of the Tourism Board of the Diputación Provincial de Zaragoza.
He was also President of Tarbut Sefarad Calatayud and a founding member of the Asociación de Amigos de la Cultura Judía de Tarazona Moshe de Portella. In addition, he coordinated the “Espacio Sefarad” initiative at the Diputación de Zaragoza and has collaborated with media outlets including Heraldo de Aragón, Aragón Radio, El Periódico de Aragón, and Radio SER Tarazona, among others.
Bona López has promoted innovative projects in visual and historical reconstruction using new technologies—such as Histories of Calatayud and Tarazona in a Few Minutes—through his YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram channels, as well as podcast series including Desde Calatayud: Voces de Sefarad, Medieval Jewish Quarter of Tarazona, Medieval Jewish Quarter of Híjar, and Medieval Jewish Quarter of Zaragoza on iVoox.
This podcast is part of his lifelong commitment to giving voice to the silenced stories of history. He is also the author of several works dedicated to recovering forgotten voices, including The Medieval Jewish Quarter of Tarazona, The Jewish Quarter of Calatayud: 16 Stories Between Stone and Word, Artificial Intelligence Applied to Heritage, Maderuela: Echoes of Moncayo, The Last Rabbi of Sepharad: Isaac ben Moses Arama Between Torah, Kabbalah and Philosophy, and The Digital Archaeologist of Bílbilis—all available on Amazon.
Shalom.
