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joseantonio | all galleries >> Galleries >> PRAGUE > The Loretto (Loreta)
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05-MAR-2017

The Loretto (Loreta)

This Marian pilgrimage site with the Baroque Church of the Nativity and a replica of the Holy House is surrounded by cloisters and chapels. In the tower there is a 27-bell carillon that plays the Loretan Marian song "A Thousand Times We Greet Thee" (every hour from 9 am to 6 pm). The name Loretto has origins in the Italian pilgrim place where the Santa Casa – Holy House is located, originally a cottage inhabited by Virgin Mary in Nazareth in Palestine, where supposedly Archangel Gabriel announced to her that she would become mother of God. From here, she and St. Joseph went to Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, and later she came back again. The Holy House has, shortly after Virgin Mary's death, become a worshipped relic, which was however badly damaged after the invasion of the Saracens (Arabian Muslims) into Palestine. Legend says that when the crusading army left Palestine in 1291, a miracle happened. Angels took the Holy Cabin first to Dalmatia and from here into the town in Northern Italy, into a laurel grove, after which the town is called Loreto, which is Laurentum in Latin (laurus – laurel). Archaeological research later confirmed that a part of the brickwork really is identical with Mary's cabin, but it was probably the pope who had it brought from Nazareth in the 13th century. Based on the Italian model from architect Donato Bramante, Loreto was also built in other Catholic countries; in our country it was namely after the defeat at Bílá Hora in 1620. The Holy Cabin in Mikulov, built by Cardinal Diettrichstein, became a model for Prague's Loreto, as Countess Kateřina Benigna of Lobkowicz admired it during her visit.

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Buz Kiefer13-Apr-2017 17:47
Delightful composition with beautiful light and lovely arches. V
Gill Kopy11-Apr-2017 01:37
How lovely with the beautiful art work in the ceiling sections V
Cemil Gursen10-Apr-2017 10:53
Excellent POV capturing these beautiful paintings on the ceiling. V
Julie Oldfield10-Apr-2017 04:19
Very beautiful. V
Nirvan Hope10-Apr-2017 04:01
Such a beautiful arched walkway with those great ceiling paintings.
Nick Paoni10-Apr-2017 01:47
What a beautiful walkway.
Helen Betts09-Apr-2017 23:17
Excellent POV and repeating forms, and good detail in the ceiling, too. V.
Ken Chambers ARPS09-Apr-2017 21:31
Superb paintings Jose
Martin Lamoon09-Apr-2017 20:00
Fine ceilings, well done to get so many paintings in
v
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