Covilhã

Fatima

Covilhã (Portuguese pronunciation: [kuviˈʎɐ̃] ) is a city and a municipality in the Centro region, Portugal. The city proper had 34,772 inhabitants in 2001. The municipality population in 2011 was 51,797, in an area of 555.60 km². It is located in the Beiras e Serra da Estrela subregion and Beiras and Serra da Estrela Intermunicipal Community. The municipal holiday is October 20. Sometimes referred to as town of wool and snow, Covilhã is one of the main urban centres of the historical Beira Interior region. The proximity of the mountains offers dramatic scenery and a great environment for those fond of hiking, camping, mountain climbing and skiing.

Fátima (Portuguese pronunciation: [ˈfatimɐ] ) is a city in the municipality of Ourém, Beira Litoral Province, in the Central Region and Médio Tejo intermunicipal community of Portugal, with 71.29 km2 of area and 11,788 inhabitants (2011). Its population density is 162.7 inhabitants/km2. The homonymous civil parish encompasses several villages and localities of which the city of Fátima, with a population of 7,756 residents, is the largest. The worldwide fame of the city is permanently associated with the apparitions of the Virgin Mary reported by three little shepherds – Lúcia, Francisco and Jacinta – from May 13 until October 13 of 1917. The Catholic Church later recognized these events as "worthy of belief". A small chapel, now known as the Chapel of the Apparitions, was built at the site of the alleged supernatural events, and a precious statue of Our Lady of Fátima installed. Due to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fátima, a Marian shrine complex containing two minor basilicas, located in the wealthy quarter of Cova da Iria, the city has become in one of the most important international destinations of religious tourism, receiving between 6 and 8 million pilgrims by year. It attracts the religious people, but also those who seek a peace lifestyle usually only found in the convents and monasteries.