Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, Fatima Live Cam

The esplanade of the Sanctuary of Fátima fills this view, in the Santarém district of central Portugal. The Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary with its tower closes the far end, and colonnades run down both sides of the open ground.

The esplanade is roughly twice the size of St Peter's Square and can hold several hundred thousand people. At its centre stands the Chapel of the Apparitions, on the spot where three shepherd children reported seeing the Virgin Mary in 1917; the modern round basilica of the Holy Trinity, finished in 2007, is behind the camera.

The great pilgrimages fall on 13 May and 13 October, when the whole esplanade fills and candlelit processions cross it after dark. On ordinary days it is nearly empty, with a line of people walking the marked path on their knees towards the chapel.