We stayed on the SS16 coast road initially but this was the Adriatic coastal strip and was almost constant towns with pedestrian crossings, traffic lights and no view of the sea. We went inland and picked up the A14 motorway, only leaving it as we approached Loreto.
We were intrigued by the Santuario della Santa Casa in the centre of Loreto and had decided to visit it. Choosing a car park just outside the town walls, we walked in to the massive, domed church that is a very important pilgrimage centre for Roman Catholics throughout the world. The sanctuary covers a house believed to be the home of the Virgin Mary in Nazareth. According to tradition, when the Crusaders were expelled from Nazareth in 1291, angels brought Mary's stone house to Loreto to prevent it from being desecrated by the Muslims. The house was certainly transported from somewhere and perhaps it did come from Nazareth. The veneration that the house is held in by Roman Catholics was very apparent when we visit – mass was being held in the tiny room when we arrived and a constant stream of people prayed or stood in awe inside (as we did) looking at the stones and the modern altar. The house, sitting below the church's magnificent painted dome, is encased in a beautifully 16th century carved marble casing that includes a lovely scene of the house being transported by angels.
A cross-country route took us into much more interesting countryside of hills and valley with ranges of snow-covered mountains further inland. The aire at Urbino is on a considerable slope but opposite there is a lovely, level, university car park and given that it was Saturday night and the car park was deserted, we parked there.
Photos: The Piazza della Madonna, Loreto; The octagonal dome above the Virgin Mary's house; The marble casing; The interior of the Virgin Mary's house.
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