Cova da Iria

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Cova da Iria ("Irene's Cove") is a few acres of former pastureland near Aljustrel, a village about a mile from Fátima, Portugal. In 1917 three shepherd children reported apparitions of a "pretty lady from heaven". The visions were declared worthy of belief by the Catholic Church and are now popularly known as Our Lady of Fatima.

Pilgrims honouring the apparitions gather in Cova da Iria, on a huge esplanade in which is built a little chapel on the site where the Virgin is believed to have appeared to the children. Around the esplanade are a considerable number of shops and stalls selling all kinds of religious articles.