Santuario della Santa Casa di Loreto

Three stone walls, identified by tradition as from the house of the Annunciation in Nazareth, arrived at this hilltop in 1294. A basilica built by the greatest Renaissance architects between 1469 and 1587 now encloses them. Loreto has been one of Europe's foremost pilgrimage destinations for over five centuries.

According to the oldest tradition, the walls of the house in Nazareth where the Virgin Mary lived were transported by angels in two stages: first to Tersatto in Croatia in 1291, then across the Adriatic to the Loreto hilltop on December 10, 1294. A more recent historical interpretation suggests that Crusader-era Christians physically transported the stones to save them from destruction as Muslim forces advanced in the Holy Land. Some scholars have noted the possible involvement of a noble family named Angeli, whose name may have been conflated with angelic intervention over the centuries. Archaeological evidence confirms that the stones are of Palestinian origin and consistent with first-century construction techniques. The three walls fit the perimeter of the Grotto of Nazareth. In 1510 the Santa Casa was approved for pilgrimages, rapidly becoming one of the most visited shrines in Europe.