Casa Santa denotes the chapel of the Holy Virgin at Loretto in Italy. Its chief room is the chamber in which the Blessed Virgin is said to have been born, where she was betrothed to Joseph, where the angel saluted her, and where the Holy Ghost overshadowed her, etc. Tradition says it was carried, in May, 1291, through the air by angels from Galilee to Tersato in Dalmatia, and four and a half years afterwards was taken to Italy and set down in a wood in the district of Recanati, a thousand paces from the sea. Strange to relate, it was more than two hundred years before any author in that country took any notice of the event or of the building. It was, when first brought to notice, simply a house of one room; but as religious enthusiasm became excited it also became necessary to repair its decayed condition and improve its appearance. Therefore, Clement VII. caused a vaulted roof to be placed upon it and new foundations to support its tottering walls. At a later period it was completely encased in the finest Carrara marble, under the directions of the most celebrated sculptors of the age and during the pontificates of Leo X., Paul III., and Gregory XIII. The edifice which encloses the chamber within its spacious walls was designed by Bramante, and its sculptures were designed and executed by the most famous artists. This is composed of Istrian stone resembling the Travertine stone so much used at Rome. Within the ancient chamber, which is regarded as one of the holiest of all the holy precincts known, stands the sacred image, called the Great Madonna, five feet high, made of cedar, and carved, as tradition says, by St. Luke, who was a carver as well as a physician. Upon her head is placed a triple crown of gold, enriched with diamonds and pearls, a gift from Louis XIII. of France. Over her shoulders an ample robe is cast, glittering with jewels of all descriptions and said to be of inestimable price. The niche in which the image is placed is also decorated with gems, and among them are seventy-one of the finest of the Bohemian topazes [quartz]. Adjoining the Virgin on the right side appears a statue of an angel cast in pure gold. This is also profusely enriched with diamonds and other gems. Some of these, which are said to have cost 50,000 ducats, were the offering of Eleanora of the House of Este, the Queen of King James II. of England, when she sought for the intercession of the Virgin to grant her an heir. The Pretender to the British Crown was born not long after, to the delight of all those who believed in miraculous intervention. On the left side of the Virgin a silver statue of an angel is placed, and still further on the right appears another costly image. This last was the gift of Louis XIII. of France, in gratitude for the birth of the Dauphin, afterwards “Le Grand Monarque,” Louis XIV.