Shrine of Our Lady of Nazaré

The Shrine of Our Lady of Nazaré is a Portuguese Marian shrine located in the coastal town of Nazaré on the Atlantic coast. The town is famously situated on towering cliffs overlooking the ocean. The shrine is split between a hilltop site and a beachfront location.

The shrine is associated with a 12th-century legend in which the Virgin Mary saved a local nobleman, Dom Fuas Roupinho, from riding his horse off a cliff in the fog. The nobleman was reportedly hunting a deer when he called upon the Virgin Mary to save him. A small chapel, the Ermida da Memória, was built at the exact spot where the miracle occurred.

The shrine houses a venerated statue of the Virgin Mary nursing the baby Jesus, which tradition attributes to St. Joseph of Arimathea. According to legend, the statue was carved in the early days of Christianity and later brought to the Iberian Peninsula. It is one of the oldest and most revered religious artifacts in Portugal.

The 'Sitio' refers to the upper part of the town of Nazaré situated on the high cliff where the main Sanctuary of Our Lady of Nazaré is located. It is accessible by a steep, winding road or a historic funicular railway. The Sitio offers breathtaking panoramic views of the Atlantic Ocean and the famous, massive surfing waves below.