It is located in Largo Professor Mário Moreira, parish of Santa Maria, town and municipality of Óbidos, West sub-region, District of Leiria, Central Portugal
Mannerist aqueduct with arcade divided into three sections, with a length of six kilometers, carries water from the Usseira water source to the Arcos valley and then to the Praça fountain.
The Óbidos Aqueduct was built by Catherine of Austria around 1570, in stone masonry, connecting Usseira, where the water source is located, to Óbidos, a distance of 3 kilometers.
The Óbidos Aqueduct or Usseira Aqueduct spreading south of Óbidos in a N-S direction, for a length of 3 km to the place of Usseira, extending over six kilometers, three of which are underground from the source of Usseira to the fountain in Praça de Santa Maria de Óbidos.
The aqueduct was built around 1573 by D. Catarina, wife of D. João III, who in exchange received the land in Várzea from the local council.
The construction of the aqueduct gave rise to the first water supply system in Óbidos and was completed during the reign of Philip I. The aqueduct is divided into three sections with only one register, the arcades with round arches slightly broken over the roads are reinforced at regular spaces by pegs.
The structure was repaired for the first time in 1611, and in 1622 some restoration work was carried out on the aqueduct as well as on the fountain, and in 1717 it was repaired again and a few years later the water fountain was built.
The aqueduct (divided into 3 sections) runs for 6 km in a S. / N direction. the first 3 km by underground pipes from the spring in Usseira to the Arcos valley, 2.5 km over arcades raised over the Arcos valley to the Vale gate, in the Óbidos wall, again by underground pipes, under Rua Direita, to the fountain in the Square.
The arcade that overcomes the unevenness of the Arcos valley, joining the hills of Usseira and Óbidos, is built on just one floor, reinforced every 10 arches by pegões.
The aqueduct also fed 2 other fountains, Mãe de Água near the entrance to the town (destroyed in the 20th century) and Bica, as well as drinking fountains.
In 2011, as part of the exterior arrangements of the area surrounding the "Vinhas da Porta da Vila" subdivision and the Usseira aqueduct, archaeological work was carried out, such as the removal of vegetation, general cleaning of the building and photographic and graphic survey of the diagnostic structures on the walls and ground of the building. The Óbidos Aqueduct is at the entrance, next to the parking lot, an imposing structure and a must-see for anyone arriving or leaving the city
The Óbidos Aqueduct was built by Catherine of Austria around 1570, in stone masonry, connecting Usseira, where the water source is located, to Óbidos, a distance of 3 kilometers.
The Óbidos Aqueduct or Usseira Aqueduct spreading south of Óbidos in a N-S direction, for a length of 3 km to the place of Usseira, extending over six kilometers, three of which are underground from the source of Usseira to the fountain in Praça de Santa Maria de Óbidos.
The aqueduct was built around 1573 by D. Catarina, wife of D. João III, who in exchange received the land in Várzea from the local council.
The construction of the aqueduct gave rise to the first water supply system in Óbidos and was completed during the reign of Philip I. The aqueduct is divided into three sections with only one register, the arcades with round arches slightly broken over the roads are reinforced at regular spaces by pegs.
The structure was repaired for the first time in 1611, and in 1622 some restoration work was carried out on the aqueduct as well as on the fountain, and in 1717 it was repaired again and a few years later the water fountain was built.
The aqueduct (divided into 3 sections) runs for 6 km in a S. / N direction. the first 3 km by underground pipes from the spring in Usseira to the Arcos valley, 2.5 km over arcades raised over the Arcos valley to the Vale gate, in the Óbidos wall, again by underground pipes, under Rua Direita, to the fountain in the Square.
The arcade that overcomes the unevenness of the Arcos valley, joining the hills of Usseira and Óbidos, is built on just one floor, reinforced every 10 arches by pegões.
The aqueduct also fed 2 other fountains, Mãe de Água near the entrance to the town (destroyed in the 20th century) and Bica, as well as drinking fountains.
In 2011, as part of the exterior arrangements of the area surrounding the "Vinhas da Porta da Vila" subdivision and the Usseira aqueduct, archaeological work was carried out, such as the removal of vegetation, general cleaning of the building and photographic and graphic survey of the diagnostic structures on the walls and ground of the building. The Óbidos Aqueduct is at the entrance, next to the parking lot, an imposing structure and a must-see for anyone arriving or leaving the city
The Classification of the Óbidos Aqueduct
The Óbidos Aqueduct has been classified as a Property of Public Interest since 1962.
