“All roads lead to Fatima”: Religious tourism at the sanctuary of Our Lady of the Rosary

Abstract

In the centennial of the apparition of Our Lady of Fatima, this chapter analyzes the religious tourism at Cova da Iria: historical and anthropological contextualization of the religious phenomenon; the initial stages of the pilgrimage as spontaneous occurrences without organized touristic facilities; tourism development while the rural landscape was being transformed by the construction of buildings and structures to the religious cult and host facilities appropriating icons and symbols related to the apparitions; the consolidation of the cult with the papal devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, the seers beatifcation, and canonization and the centennial celebrations imposing a complex management of the sanctuary activities and spaces; as well as a challenging communication of its religious meanings. Conceived as a case study, this research is based on a qualitative methodology involving a bibliographic research towards a theoretical framework, as well as anthropological methods such as direct observation.