5/5 Artur V. 11 months ago on Google
Marian
worship
in
a
village
of
queens.
According
to
tradition,
the
origin
of
this
church
dates
back
to
the
Visigoth
period,
having
been
converted
into
a
mosque
during
the
Muslim
era
and
reconverted
to
Christianity
after
D.
Afonso
Henriques
conquered
the
village,
in
1148,
consecrating
it
to
the
Marian
cult.
From
1210
onwards,
the
town
of
Óbidos
became
part
of
the
Casa
das
Rainhas,
having
benefited
from
artistic
and
religious
patronage
from
the
Crown
for
the
next
six
hundred
years.
The
various
interventions
in
the
Church
of
Santa
Maria
are
a
testament
to
this
fact.
The
temple
that
stands
today
in
Praça
de
Santa
Maria,
at
the
end
of
Rua
Direita,
dates
from
the
16th
century
and
was
built
on
the
initiative
of
Queen
D.
Leonor,
wife
of
D.
João
II.
It
was
in
this
church
that,
on
the
15th
of
August
1441,
the
Infante
D.
Afonso
(later
King
D.
Afonso
V
of
Portugal)
married
his
cousin
D.
Isabel,
when
he
was
ten
and
she
was
eight
years
old.
From
1571,
given
its
state
of
ruin,
it
was
profoundly
remodeled,
under
the
order
of
Queen
D.
Catarina
of
Austria,
taking
on
its
current
configuration.
At
the
entrance,
over
the
Mannerist
portal,
there
is
an
image
of
Nossa
Senhora
da
Assunção,
patroness
of
the
parish.
Next
to
the
altar,
the
Renaissance
tomb
of
D.
João
de
Noronha
(“O
Moço”),
who
was
mayor
of
Óbidos
in
the
16th
century,
deserves
to
be
admired.
It
is
a
masterpiece
of
Renaissance
tomb
sculpture,
attributed
to
the
Frenchman
Nicolau
Chanterenne.
In
addition,
paintings
by
Baltazar
Gomes
Figueira
and
the
famous
Josefa
de
Óbidos
(1634-1684)
can
be
seen,
who
combined
the
profane
and
the
sacred
in
atmospheres
of
gentle
sensuality
and
mysticism,
as
in
the
altarpiece
dating
from
1611,
which
represents
the
Wedding
Mystic
of
Santa
Catarina,
and
is
exposed
in
the
sacristy.
Much
of
the
work
of
this
remarkable
painter
(and
the
church's
collection)
is
preserved
in
museums,
namely
in
Óbidos.
The
walls,
covered
from
top
to
bottom
with
18th-century
tiles,
and
the
painted
wooden
covering
produce
a
beautiful
decorative
effect,
designed
by
Francisco
de
Azevedo
Caminha,
also
in
the
17th
century.
In
the
square
in
front
of
the
church,
the
stone
pillory
is
decorated
with
a
fishing
net.
D.
Leonor
thus
wanted
to
pay
homage
to
the
fishermen
who
collected
the
body
of
her
son
D.
Afonso
in
a
net,
who
died
after
a
fall
from
a
horse
on
the
bank
of
the
Tagus.
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