Visit Loreto
Loreto is located to the south of Ancona, inland from the Adriatic coast of Italy.
The town attracts several million visitors each year, many pilgrims, because of a story that the house of Mary - the Santa Casa - was flown here from the Holy Land by a group of angels in 1293. You can make your own judgement on whether this story is plausible. From late spring until the autumn trains packed with pilgrims, sick and needy arrive in Loreto to attend mass, held both inside and outside the cathedral. During a typical year approximately four million pilgrims visit the town.
Loreto Cathedral
A visit to Loreto can start from the 'Square of Our Lady', where it joins the impressive Loreto Basilica, built by Pope Paul II (1417-1471). The work began in 1469, with a plan which foresaw the building of a real church-fortress, because in 1468 the area had become subject to Turkish raids along the Adriatic coast. For the Loreto Basilica the most talented architects were called upon, such as Baccio Pontelli (1450-1492), Francesco di Giorgio Martini (1439-1501) and Giuliano da Sangallo (1484-1546). It certainly was created in a Gothic style, but after intervention by Giuliano da Sangallo, it took on a Renaissance tone, especially with the Dome that clearly incorporates the style of Filippo Brunelleschi (1377-1466).
The Istrian stone façade was begun in 1571 by Giovanni Boccalini and was completed by Giovanni Battista Ghioldi (1587). The three doors on the façade were made by the Recanati School of Sculpture (XVI-XVIII century), in particular by Girolamo Lombardi (1504-1590), Tiburzio Vergelli (1610 ca.-1690 ca.), Antonio Calcagni (1536-1593), Sebastiano Sebastiani (died in 1626), Tarquinio and Pietropaolo Jacometti (1580-1655). The Bell-Tower was the work of Luigi Vanvitelli [1700-1773].
The church has a Latin cross (which means that the arms of the church are the same) and, under the dome, is placed the “Holy House” of the Virgin Mary. Inside the Basilica is just as important, because it is enriched by the works and frescos of the most renowned painters of the time. Regarding the “Holy House of Mary", we are indeed faced with a work of immense artistic value as well as strictly religious. It was clad with white marble on a design by Bramante (1444-1514) and developed by artists such as Cristoforo Romano (1456-1512), Andrea Sansovino (1467-1529), Raniero Nerucci (active in the XVI century) and Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (1484-1546); in the sacristy are also the frescoes by Melozzo da Forli (1438-1494) and Luca Signorelli (1445-1523), while in the dome we have the "Four Evangelists" by Cristoforo Roncalli, known as “Pomarancio” (1553 ca.-1626).
Apostolic Palace and Museum
To the left of the Basilica stands the Apostolic Palace, a work by Bramante and Antonio da Sangallo. Inside, the Palace houses the Museum and Art Gallery, which houses, as well as tapestries and sacred furnishings, eight paintings by Lorenzo Lotto (1480-1556) who lived in Loreto the last years of his life.
The museum contains, besides numerous paintings, some works of exceptional value, which were donations of illustrious Italian and European personages who visited the shrine - we recall the valuable donations made by the Medici of Florence, as well as those of Christine of Lorraine.
One of the highlights of the museum is the silver and ebony crucifix, a gift of Joan of Austria (1535-1573), the wife of Grand Duke Francesco I of Tuscany (1541-1587). The slender crucifix rests on a base of finely carved ebony, and on careful observation you notice that the body of Christ seems to make a small rotation at the pelvis and right leg slightly advanced, offering greater shine to the material. The fusion of silver crucifix was the work of Giambologna, active at the court of Francis I, and an artist specializing in articles of small size but of an absolute technical perfection to suit the refined taste of the Prince, who loved to donate these small objects to foreign sovereigns and churches, to attest the munificence of the Medici court in Florence.
Another extraordinary work, which was a gift by Christine of Lorraine (1565-1637), is the hanging that covers the front of the altar. At Christmas of 1620 Christina of Lorraine, particularly devoted to the Virgin, "who some years before had a miracle her predecessor, healing from paralysis" gave the frontal, in silver cloth with embroidered flowers of polychrome silk and adorned at the centre by a gold cross, flanked by arms of the Medici and Lorraine. According to the description, the object, upon arrival at the Sanctuary of Loreto, in 1621, consisted of an architectural frame with a base in white and red jasper from Sicily, which rested on four pillars semi-pyramidal in lapis lazuli with bases in yellow jasper Cyprus, supporting a cornice with a frieze of amethyst and jasper plan.
Moving from the Basilica and continuing along Corso Boccalini we get to Porta Romana, and therefore the city-walls, which was built around 1520. Designed by Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, it was completed with four bastions in the 17th century.
The Holy House of the Virgin Mary
From the religious point of view, which is surely the prelude to the building of the Holy House of the Virgin Mary, we rememberthe legend that says that, in December 1294, the stones of the "house of Nazareth” were transported by angels in flight. In reality, studies have shown that the transport was done by sea, with some ships of the Crusaders. In fact, after the expulsion of the Christians from the Holy Land by the Muslims, the “Holy House” was transported first to Trsat, Croatia (1291), then to Ancona in 1293 and finally to Loreto, in December 1294. Studies about the stones of the "Holy House" confirm their Palestinian origin, because they use techniques that seem typical of the work of the Nabataeans.
There are numerous graffiti on the rocks, similar to Judeo-Christian-II of the fifth century and found in the Holy Land, particularly in Nazareth. In the "Holy House" the image of Our Lady, the "Black Madonna", is venerated, and a typical colour of oldest icons, due to smoke of oil lamps and candles.
The original statue, dating from the fourteenth century, was brought to France in the Napoleonic age. It was returned in 1801, but it was destroyed in a fire of "Holy House" in 1921. The present image dates from 1922, a work by Leopoldo Celani; it is of a cedar wood of Lebanon, from the Vatican gardens.
Other things of interest in Loreto
The woodworking and traditional handicrafts are one of the strengths of Loreto, which, among other local business, offers articles worked in silver, ceramics and wood of excellent value. Eually important is the tradition of cooking with some tasty products like the so-called “vincisgrassi”, “stuffed olives” and “crescia sfogliata”. For those wishing to restore not only the spirit, but also body, Loreto offers many services for sauna and massage, and, in the vicinity of Adriatic Sea, equipped seaside resorts such as “Porto Recanati”.