2019 Essays

Madonna of Loreto, Mola di Bari

Alcalá, Luisa Elena

The sanctuary of the Virgin of Loreto in the Marche region was one of the dominant pilgrimage centers of Europe during the early modern period, along with Saint Peter’s in Rome and Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Cult following developed throughout the region during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but once placed under papal tutelage, starting in the 1470s, it spread to other parts of Italy and many areas of Europe and America as well. The cult revolved around two objects: a sculpture of the Virgin and Christ Child believed to have been made by Saint Luke, and the Holy House of Nazareth, which according to legend was transported by angels from Holy Land to Italy in 1291-94. Captivated by the idea that a visit to Loreto meant actually inhabiting the house where the Annunciation took place and the Holy Family lived, many pilgrims returned to their hometowns to build a replica of the Holy House and/or establish a chapel. This painting is an example of how the cult spread to Puglia, where there are a number of other chapels and churches harboring Loretan images.