Santa Maria di Loreto is a 16th-century church in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, central

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, located just across the street from the Trajan's Column, near the giant Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II.

History

After the

Jubilee A jubilee is often used to refer to the celebration of a particular anniversary of an event, usually denoting the 25th, 40th, 50th, 60th, and the 70th anniversary. The term comes from the Hebrew Bible (see, "Old Testament"), initially concerning ...

of 1500, the association of bakers (Sodalizio dei Fornai) received permission from

Pope Alexander VI Pope Alexander VI (, , ; born Roderic Llançol i de Borja; epithet: ''Valentinus'' ("The Valencian"); – 18 August 1503) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 11 August 1492 until his death in 1503. Born into t ...

to build a church at this site. Construction of this church began in 1507 under

Donato Bramante Donato Bramante (1444 – 11 April 1514), born as Donato di Pascuccio d'Antonio and also known as Bramante Lazzari, was an Italian architect and painter. He introduced Renaissance architecture to Milan and the High Renaissance style to Rom ...

, carried out by Andrea Sansovino and completed by

Antonio da Sangallo the younger Antonio da Sangallo the Younger (12 April 14843 August 1546), also known as Antonio Cordiani, was an Italian architect active during the Renaissance, mainly in Rome and the Papal States. One of his most popular projects that he worked on des ...

. The design called for a square first story and an octagonal second story built in travertine and brick. It was one of the earliest domed square churches built on classical forms. Sangallo's facade is a maturer, more ornate version of the facade of the Palazzo Baldassini. A second dome and lantern were added by Jacopo del Duca around 1575. The church was built atop an earlier 15th century chapel, which contained an icon of the Virgin of Loreto, hence the church retained the icon and acquired the title. It is most notable for the adjacent erection of a similarly domed, but pale marble, 18th-century church

Santissimo Nome di Maria al Foro Traiano The Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary at the Trajan Forum (, ) is a Roman Catholic church (building), church in Rome, Italy. This church should not be confused with the church Santissimo Nome di Maria in Via Latina in south-east Rome. The pa ...

, giving the semblance of twin churches.

Interior

The interior decoration is best noted for the statuary, including a statue at the entrance by Andrea Sansovino and around the altar, four angels by Stefano Maderno, and representations of four martyred virgin and Roman saints, apt companions to a church dedicated to the transposed house of the Virgin Mary's

Annunciation The Annunciation (; ; also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Annunciation of Our Lady, or the Annunciation of the Lord; ) is, according to the Gospel of Luke, the announcement made by the archangel Gabriel to Ma ...

. The four martyrs in order of completion were

Saint Agnes Agnes of Rome (21 January 304) is a virgin martyr, venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church, Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, as well as the Anglican Communion and Lutheranism, Lutheran Chu ...

by Pompeo Ferrucci, Saint Flavia Domitilla by Domenico de Rossi,

Saint Cecilia Saint Cecilia (), also spelled Cecelia, was a Roman Christian virgin martyr, who is venerated in Catholic, Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and some Lutheran churches, such as the Church of Sweden. She became the ...

by Giuliano Finelli, and the famous early

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

statue of

Santa Susanna The Church of Saint Susanna at the Baths of Diocletian () is a Roman Catholic, Catholic parish church, parish and Cistercian conventual church located on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, Italy. There has been a titular church associated to its site as ...

by Francois Duquesnoy.Harris, Ann Sutherland. ''Seventeenth-century Art and Architecture'', Laurence King Publishing, 2005, p. 96
One chapel is covered by mosaics by Paolo Rossetti and was frescoed by the studio of Federigo Zuccaro. The main chapel was built by Onorio Longhi and frescoed by Cavaliere d'Arpino.

References

External links

{{Commons, Santa Maria di Loreto
Santa Maria di Loreto

''Studio di Pittura scoltura et architettura nelle Chiese di Roma''
(1674), Filippo Titi. Page 316-317. Maria Loreto Renaissance architecture in Rome Maria Di Loreto, Rome Maria Loreto