Sanctuary of the Holy House Loreto

Sanctuary of the Holy House Loreto Copyright All rights reserved © By itravelinitaly.com
travelers from Italy Photo by Baldassarri Giuseppe.

Location; Santuario della Santa Casa di Loreto, Piazza Della Madonna, 1, 60025 Loreto, AN, Marches, Italy. Santa Casa Inside is the Holy House of Nazareth, where, according to devotional tradition, the Virgin Mary received the Annunciation. Interior of the Holy House The "house of the Madonna" was formed by three walls leaning against a cave dug into the rock (which is located in the Basilica of the Annunciation in Nazareth). According to popular tradition, on the night between 9 and 10 December 1294 the stones of the house of Nazareth were flown by angels. In fact, some studies and documents found confirmed that transport was by sea on crusader ships. In fact, after the expulsion of the Christians from the Holy Land by Muslims, an exponent of the Angeli family, rulers of Epirus, was interested in saving the Holy House from certain ruin, which was, therefore, transported first to Trsat, in today's Croatia, in 1291 and then in Loreto on 10 December 1294. Studies carried out on the stones of the Holy House would confirm its Palestinian origin, they are worked according to the technique used by the Nabataeans, a people bordering on the Jews, much used also in Palestine. On the stones, there are numerous graffiti similar to the Judaeo-Christian ones of the II-V century found in the Holy Land, in particular in Nazareth. The sanctuary was built to protect the Holy House, on the initiative of the bishop of Recanati, the Forlì of Nicolò from the Auction, starting from 1469, and was completed in 1587. The bell tower was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli and was built in 1755. inside the Basilica The interior has a Latin cross plan with three naves. The bronze baptistery of Tiburzio Vergelli is located in the left aisle. On the vault there are paintings by Pomarancio. Under the dome, by Giuliano da Sangallo, is the Holy House. Inside the Holy House is the statue of the Virgin of Loreto. The marble cladding on the outside was designed by Donato Bramante. Peculiar is the two parallel grooves that are found on the base, caused by the pilgrims who, for centuries, have crossed the perimeter of the covering on their knees. Melozzo da Forlì, Dome of the sacristy of San Marco (detail) Among the chapels and sacristies, the following deserve particular attention: the Sacristy of S. Giovanni or Signorelli for the frescoes by Luca Signorelli, and the even more famous Sacristy of San Marco or del Melozzo for the wonderful frescoes, recently restored, by Melozzo da Forlì: this painter's ability to produce "three-dimensional" effects like a true master of perspective is surprising.