Loreto is one among the most important sacred places for Catholics pilgrims in the Marche Region.
Its history begins on the 10th of December 1924, when the house of Saint Mary the Virgin was moved from Nazareth to this site; this belief  is supported by the researches that have recently been carried out on the graffiti found inside this house.
The sacred house has a very simple structure with three walls, each of them reaching the height of three meters, composed of sandstones and refined with a particular technique that was used in Palestine in the time of Jesus.
This site is remarkable for its religious and spiritual values as well as for the artistic importance  of its well decorated marble covering.
Pope Julius II commissioned Donato Bramante to make the covering, that was completed under the direction of Andrea Sansovino, Ranieri Nerucci and Antonio da Sangallo, the latter being the young creator of the amazing upper balustrade.
Signorini painted the frescoes in the Vestry of Saint John while Melozzo painted the ones in the Vestry of Saint Mark and both cycles have an extraordinary artistic value. Pomarancio painted the Hall of the Treasure in 1600 and tourists can still enjoy these masterly works of art.
The late-Renaissance facade was executed through different phases respectively by Giovanni Boccalini, Giovan B. Chioldi and Lattanzio Ventura, while the three magnificent bronze portals that display biblical  scenes were cast on the occasion of the Jubilee in 1600 by some sculptors from the Recanati School.
The statue of Pope Sistus V, positioned on the Parvise,  is ascribed to the sculptor Antonio Calcagni, while the square just opposite to the sanctuary has a beautiful seventeenth-century fountain and is surrounded by some elegant side buildings, e.g.: the Apostolic Palace (probably created  by Donato Bramante).