Óbidos is the stereotypical portrait of a medieval city: a closed world; a world onto itself; hierarchical; assembled around a centre; and marked by its square and its Cathedral; a settlement surrounded by walls. Óbidos is one of the few medieval settlements whose original walls are still intact. Praça de Santa Maria contains its most important buildings: the Casa da Picota, dating from the 15th century; a vertical fountain; an old covered square; and, of course, the Igreja de Santa Maria, renowned as the site of Alfonso V’s marriage to Isabella, his eight-year-old cousin.
