Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index Loreto is a well-known Catholic pilgrimage place in Italy near Ancona. The Santa Casa with the Madonna has been for over 700 years destination of innumerable pilgrimages. The Holy House of Maria of Nazareth was brought to Colli del Lauri in 1294 by crusaders and in the 15th century there a basilica was built around it. It is a masterpiece work of several prominent architects and artists. See also: The Virgin Mary shrines This article is from Wikipedia. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.