The Holy House: From Nazareth to Loreto

The Holy House of Loreto by Rinaldo Rinaldi

---

The facade of the church of San Salvatore in Lauro sports a curious bas-relief of a house being transported through the air by three angels. On top of the house sits the Madonna and Child. 

The relief is the work of Rinaldo Rinaldi (1793-1873) and it depicts the story of the Holy House of Loreto (Casa Santa di Loreto). According to legend, during the night of December 9th 1294, the house in which the Virgin Mary was born, lived and received the Annunciation, was transported by angels from Nazareth to Loreto, a small town in the Marches, a region in north-east Italy.

The Holy House, or rather three of its walls, are now enshrined in the Basilica della Santa Casa, which was built between 1469 and 1587.  

---