Nestled deep within the greenery of Sintra’s Parque da Liberdade, the cave sanctuary dedicated to Nossa Senhora da Pena is a hidden fusion of ancient popular devotion and romantic landscape design.

The backstory of Senhora da Pena (Our Lady of the Rock) dates back to the 12th century, born from a series of miraculous Marian apparitions witnessed by local shepherds on the highest peaks of the Sintra mountains. This foundational connection originally sparked the creation of a mountain chapel, which King Manuel I expanded into a prominent royal monastery in 1503. Which nowadays has turned into the famous colourful Pena Palace.

When the historic Parque da Liberdade was envisioned in the late 19th century, city planners and romantic landscape artists deliberately sought to incorporate this deep-rooted religious identity into the park's lush, winding pathways. They created a dedicated worship spot inside a natural stone grotto, allowing visitors to encounter a peaceful shrine amidst the ferns. This alcove is nowadays inviting us to contemplate centuries of mystical mountain devotion and how these beliefs have usually sparked the construction of great buildings across our realm.