The small hill town of Loreto has been the famous pilgrimage site of thousands of Christians since 15 AD. Pilgrims journeyed from Rome, to Macereto, and finally to Loreto to see the original Santa Casa. According to legend, the house of Mary was carried by angels from Nazareth, to Trsat in Croatia, and then to a laurel wood across the Adriatic Sea, where Loreto was located. On December 10, 1294, Mary’s house appeared in the Piazza della Modonna. The piazza is enclosed by the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa, a church that was built around the house during the Renaissance, and the Palazzo Apostolico, constructed by Bramante in 1510, but completed in 1750. The town is important to our study of the Renaissance because it demonstrates the role religion and the papacy played in the lives of people during that time. The art and architecture of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa and the Palazzo Apostolico also incorporate classical Roman elements.
Pope Julius II made Loreto an official Christian pilgrimage site during his rule between 1503 and 1513. The power of the Renaissance papacy is demonstrated by the statue of Pope Sixtus V outside the church, which has bas relief sculptures of allegorical representations of charity, justice, and faith. Pope Julius II and Pope Sixtus V were both popes during the Renaissance papacy. The papacy struggled to maintain its power in the midst of many obstacles, which included the schism after the Avignon papacy, the Turkish threat, the sack of Constantinople by Christians, the power struggle between the Holy Roman Empire and the pope, and the reformation. The reformation was sparked by several problems that existed in the Catholic Church, including simony, nepotism, pluralism, local corruption, ignorance, and the misuse of privilege.
Guilty of nepotism, Pope Julius II gained his position as pope with help from his family member Pope Sixtus IV. Pope Julius II’s is famous for gaining back territories for the papacy, such as Bologna, Perugia, and the Marche region. In 1506 he took part in the foundation of St. Peter’s Basilica and persuaded Michelangelo to paint the Sistine Chapel. In addition to being guilty of nepotism, he is also infamous for taking part in the selling of indulgences, particularly to cover the costs of St. Peter’s Basilica.
While the architecture of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa is gothic, Bramante, a Renaissance architect from Milan, was commissioned to build the chapel over the house. Bramante’s study of classical architecture, such as the Roman pantheon, is obvious when one observes his carved marble case over the Santa Casa. Classical elements such as Greco designs, pediments, dentals, railing, and columns with Corinthian capitals demonstrate the revival of the Greek and Roman times. Other carvings depict the transportation of the house by angels, as well as the birth of Mary, and the Adoration of the Magi. Carved into the marble structure at the base is a bench where pilgrims knelt to pray before entering Santa Casa.
Santa Casa itself is rectangular chamber made of brick walls. Pieces of Gothic frescoes still remain on the walls. On the bejeweled altar is a cedar wood image of the Madonna and Child.
Classical architecture is also integrated into the Palazzo Apostolico and the façade of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa. The Palazzo Apostolico, also designed by Bramante, is made up of two stories of porticos to house pilgrims. The façade of the Palazzo Apostolico has pilasters, or decorative columns, with Doric and ionic capitals. The bas relief carvings between the two levels depict more stories from the transportation of Santa Casa from Nazareth to Loreto. On the façade of the Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa are Latin inscriptions and Roman columns and pediments. All of these elements of the Palazzo Apostolico and Basilica Santuario della Santa Casa used to appear on Roman temples.
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