The main town and service centre of the central zone of Navarre, Tafalla is located 21 miles south of Pamplona, very close to Olite.  Crossed by the river Cidacos, the town maintains a mediaeval air in its highest part and a more modern atmosphere in the centre, where most of the shops and services are found. Notable are the more than thirty coats of arms on the facades of the houses, some of them hundred-year-old palaces such as those of the Marqués de Feria or the Mencos family; the latter stands next to the convent of the Recoletas and its arch is one of the most representative images of Tafalla. The church of Santa María jealously guards an altarpiece by Juan de Anchieta, one of the greatest Romanesque works and remains of the old wall and the ancient palace make up the architectural heritage of the town.