Description

FAITH AND SPIRITUALITY

The Sanctuary of Loreto is famous in the world because it houses the precious relic of the Nazaret House of Mary, the house where the Virgin Mary was born and educated and in which the Archangel Gabriel announced to her that she would become the Mother of Jesus. According to popular tradition, the Holy House was transported from Nazareth to Loreto by the flying angels on the night between 9 and 10 December 1294.

The House of Nazareth venerated in Loreto is not only a "relic", but also a precious icon of an event and a mystery: the Incarnation of the Word through the Holy Spirit.

Entering the Holy House we can read the following words written above the altar: "Hic Verbum caro factum est" (Here the Word became Flesh), to remember the coming of God in the world of men for our salvation, in the womb of the Virgin Mary.
In the niche above the altar is placed the venerated wooden statue of the Madonna with Child wrapped in the characteristic dress, called "Dalmatica".

The Sanctuary of Loreto is a place of Marian worship among the most important and frequented in the Catholic world, defined by Pope Saint John Paul II in 1993: "the first Shrine of international scope dedicated to the Virgin and true Marian heart of Christianity".

The Holy House of Loreto was the home of the Holy Family, model of every Christian family, for which it is considered "House of Mary, House of every Family" (Pope Francis).
The Holy House, with its walls that saw Mary and Jesus grow up, recalls the value of the Family and the importance it has in society.
For this reason the faithful invoke the Virgin of Loreto as patron of their families and homes.

Our Lady of Loreto was also proclaimed heavenly Patron of the Aviators and air travelers by Pope Benedict XV in 1920, for this reason: "The Virgin of Loreto is invoked everywhere by air travellers, in an embrace of peace that unites all continents in spirit" (Saint John Paul II).

The Sanctuary of Loreto, with its thaumaturgical fame, is an important reference point for the Unitalsi’s journeys, the pilgrimages for the sick and infirm that have been organized since 1936.  It was visited, moreover, by countless Saints and Blessed and by the Popes.  The "Via Lauretana", moreover, is an ancient spiritual path that connects Loreto to Rome, frequented since 1300 by faithful from all over Europe.

The pilgrimage on foot Macerata-Loreto, which since 1978 takes place every year in the month of June and represents a very popular gesture of faith that involves thousands of people, especially young people.

The most beautiful prayers of Lauretin:

Prayer to the Madonna of Loreto

Angelus Domini

Prayer for the Family

ART TREASURES

The Sanctuary of Loreto, built in 1468, is an outstanding architectural complex where the genius of the greatest artists of the 15th-20th century shines.

Inside the Basilica
The Marble Cladding of the Holy House, designed by the famous architect Donato Bramante, is a masterpiece of Renaissance art from the 16th century.

Inspired probably by the Roman Ara Pacis, on its walls are superbly decorated bas-reliefs celebrating the life of the Holy Virgin.  This marble chest was commissioned by Julius II who, in November 1507, sent specially to Loreto il Bramante with the task of making "cose magne e… per disegnare molte opere".  Inside is the humble House of Mary. The Statue of the Black Madonna stands out, carved on a cedar wood from Lebanon that is in bloom in the Vatican Gardens; It replaces an older icon destroyed following a fire in 1921 in the Santa Casa. The present statue was sculpted by Pius XI, who in 1922 crowned it at the Vatican and had it solemnly transported to Loreto.

Around the Holy House there are nine chapels: six dedicated to some nations of Europe, which participated, also economically, to their decoration and a frescoed thanks to the offerings of English-speaking American Catholics. They are an interesting example of purist and verista art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and confirm the international vocation of the Lauretano Sanctuary.

The other two are the Chapel of the Crucifix (sec. XX) and the Chapel of the Dukes of Urbino (the only Renaissance), the latter judged one of the most representative masterpieces of the art of the Counter-Reformation of the end of the sec. XVI.
In the two side aisles of the Basilica there are twelve chapels. six for each nave.
They were built in the Renaissance style by Bramante and then transformed into the current style by the architect Andrea Vici (late XVII sec.).

The most important is the Baptistery Chapel (the first one on the left aisle), a fine work of art created by Tiburzio Vergelli di Camerino in the years 1600-1607 on commission from Card. Antonio Maria Gallo di Osimo. The frescoes of Pomarancio decorate the vault.

The Sanctuary is an anthology of sacred art. We mention some masterpieces: the frescoes of Melozzo da Forlì (Sacrestia San Marco - sec. XV), which testify to a spectacular use of perspective;
by Luca Signorelli, author of the splendid Angeli Musicanti of botticelliana inspiration (Sacrestia S. Giovanni - sec. XV) and of Cristoforo Roncalli, called the Pomarancio, which decorated the vault of the Treasury Room (also called Sala del Pomarancio) with frescoes depicting scenes from the life of the Madonna (sec. XVII).

The pictorial cycles made by Cesare Maccari (late 19th century, early 20th century) for the drum and dome are of great scenic impact. The Cathedral is a unique example of this. The Sienese painter depicted in the first the History of the Dogma of the Immaculate, proclaimed by Pius IX on 8 December 1854 and in the cap, through symbolic images, the Lauretane Litany, invocations to the Virgin Mary.

In addition, in the Lower Basilica is located a precious statue of terracotta decorated and gilded depicting the Virgin Lauretana with dalmatic. The decorative elements are assumed to have been made in times prior to the 16th century.

Outside the Basilica

Piazza della Madonna is a splendid Renaissance basin.
The facade of the Basilica, which dominates the east side of the square, was designed by the architect Giovanni Boccalini and completed in 1587 under Pope Sixtus V.
The three superb bronze doors commissioned by Card. Gallo, protector of the Sanctuary, in view of the Jubilee of 1600. Each door is decorated with biblical scenes.
On the square you can admire the statue of Sixtus V (1587), by the sculptor Antonio Calcagni.

The gigantic dome was turned by Giuliano da Sangallo in just 8 months, from September 1499 to May 1500. The bell tower (XVIII century) was designed by Luigi Vanvitelli, the famous architect of the Reggia di Caserta.

The Apostolic Palace, with noble Renaissance forms, was designed by the pontifical architect Donato Bramante. It embraces the Piazza on the west and north sides and houses the Pontifical Museum and the bishop’s apartments.

On the south side of the square is the Illirico Palace, a dignified brick building reduced to its current forms in the years 1831-1835. The square is embellished by a superb fountain (early 17th century), the work of Carlo Maderno and Giovanni Fontana.

The Pontifical Museum of the Holy House is located on the noble floor of the Apostolic Palace (piazza della Madonna) in the shortest arm of the structure, called "Vanvitelliano", because the façade was adorned with a balustrade and decorations, of neoclassical style, on a project by Vanvitelli.

The Museum was established at the end of the nineteenth century with works of art from the Basilica or donated to the Sanctuary over the centuries and that constitute a remarkable artistic heritage both of faith.

Among the works of art on display are: seven canvases by Lorenzo Lotto, the prestigious collection of ceramics from Urbino in the 16th century, the Flemish tapestries (1620-24) made on cartoons designed by Raffaello Sanzio, the preparatory cartons for the frescoes of the Dome of the Basilica of the painter Cesare Maccari (late XIX sec. early XX sec. sec.). 
Location: Piazza della Madonna - Apostolic Palace
Times: Every day 10.00/13.00 - 15.00/18.00 Entrance: € 8.00 - Free for children (0-13 years) and adults over 75 years

For the fans, we suggest a visit to the Historical Archive and the Library of the Holy House. The archive contains ancient and valuable texts and documents; the most important are the Bull of Julius II (1507) and the Book of various expenses by Lorenzo Lotto.

The library, dating back to the 16th century, houses a book collection of about 6,000 rare and valuable editions, almost complete up to the present day.

Ronda walk of the Basilica

Built on a project by the Pontifical Architect Baccio Pontelli, they are a superb example of military architecture from the late fifteenth century. Visitors can admire a fascinating architectural structure, which opens interesting views on the physiognomy of the Basilica and the vast and magnificent panorama of the Conero Riviera.
The path is accessed via a spiral staircase with about 120 steps.
Full entrance fee: 6 €

Museo Storico Aeronautico

Boccalini n. 38, hosts a unique collection of its kind as it houses hundreds of original pieces, in some cases unique, the Air Force, from the birth of the Regia Aeronautica to the present day.

The location of the museum in Loreto is due to the fact that the Madonna Lauretana is patron of all Aviators.
Location: Corso Boccalini, 38
Opening hours: Saturday and Sunday 10.30-12.30 / 16.30-19.30
Closed: Christmas, New Year's Eve, Easter and Ferragosto
Admission: Free

Scala Santa (1941) was used since the 1950s to favor pilgrims arriving by train in Loreto, as it is a shortcut that connects the railway station to the Sanctuary (400 steps)

The Holy Staircase is also an important devotional route: from May to October every Saturday at 7.00 you can participate in the prayer of the Rosary by climbing the staircase dotted with 15 beautiful edicoli of the mysteries of the Rosary, containing carved bronze panels by the artist Guarino Roscioli and placed in 1950.

The Holy Staircase flanks the Polish War Cemetery.
The great Polish war cemetery, consecrated on 6 May 1946, stands on the slopes of the Lauretano hill, in a very suggestive and panoramic place. It is accessed from Piazzale San Giovanni Paolo II, along a stretch of the Scala Santa.

In the shrine are buried 1,080 officers and soldiers of the "2nd Anders Corps" who died on the Adriatic front in the battles for Ancona and Loreto, on the river Metauro and on the Gothic Line, during the Second World War.
The soldiers' graves are arranged on 3 terraces; in the center, on a stone base, is located a flagpole with the Polish flag.
On the four sides are engraved the names of the places where the young soldiers fought many battles.
As in the Polish cemetery of Casamassima (Bari), on the altar at the center of the cemetery is placed a copy of the Madonna: "Our Lady of the Gate of the Dawn", the famous painting (XVII sec.) The museum is located in Vilnius (Lithuania), a symbol of the strong ties between Polish soldiers and the eastern lands of pre-war Poland.
In the cemetery, besides the Catholics, there are the tombs of 55 soldiers of Orthodox confession, 11 of Jewish religion, 10 evangelicals and 1 soldier of Muslim religion.
The cemetery is entrusted to the care of the Sisters of the "Holy Family of Nazareth", a religious congregation founded in Rome in 1875 by the Polish nun Franciszka Siedliska (1842-1902).