LORETO, an episcopal see and pilgrimage resort of the Marches, Italy, in the province of Ancona, 15 m. by rail S.S.E. of that town. Pop. (1901) 1178 (town), 8033 (commune). It lies upon the right bank of the Musone, at some distance from the railway station, on a hill-side commanding splendid views from the Apennines to the Adriatic, 341 ft. above sea-level. The town itself consists of little more than one long narrow street, lined with shops for the sale of rosaries, medals, crucifixes and similar objects, the manufacture of which is the sole industry of the place. The number of pilgrims is said to amount to 50,000 annually, the chief festival being held on the 8th of September, the Nativity of the Virgin. The principal buildings, occupying the four sides of the piazza, are the college of the Jesuits, the Palazzo Apostolico, now Reale (designed by Bramante), which contains a picture gallery with works of Lorenzo Lotto, Vouet and Caracci and a collection of majolica, and the cathedral church of the Holy House (Chiesa della Casa Santa), a Late Gothic structure continued by Giuliano da Maiano, Giuliano da Sangallo and Bramante. The handsome façade of the church was erected under Sixtus V., who fortified Loreto and gave it the privileges of a town (1586); his colossal statue stands in the middle of the flight of steps in front. Over the principal doorway is a life-size bronze statue of the Virgin and Child by Girolamo Lombardo; the three superb bronze doors executed at the latter end of the 16th century and under Paul V. (1605-1621) are also by Lombardo, his sons and his pupils, among them Tiburzio Vergelli, who also made the fine bronze font in the interior. The doors and hanging lamps of the Santa Casa are by the same artists. The richly decorated campanile, by Vanvitelli, is of great height; the principal bell, presented by Leo X. in 1516, weighs 11 tons. The interior of the church has mosaics by Domenichino and Guido Reni and other works of art. In the sacristies on each side of the right transept are frescoes, on the right by Melozzo da Forli, on the left by Luca Signorelli. In both are fine intarsias.