Mura di Loreto

Why it matters

The sixteenth-century walls of Loreto form a defensive circuit around the sanctuary hill. Built between 1518 and 1521 under Pope Leo X, the enceinte reflects efforts to protect the shrine and its growing wealth from raids along the Adriatic coast.

What to notice

The circuit includes two circular and two pentagonal bastions. The Bastione del Comune and the Bastione della Rimembranza preserve later civic uses of the fortifications. The walls include gates and arches associated with the town's water infrastructure. A monument by Alessandro Monteleone, installed in 1966, commemorates Pope John XXIII's 1962 pilgrimage to Loreto.

Context and history

Porta Marina was built from 1523. The western approach was rebuilt around 1590 by military architect Pompeo Floriani as Porta Romana, replacing the earlier Porta Osimana. Sculptures by Simone Cioni on the gate include prophets first carved for the Holy House's marble casing. The town's defensive circuit and the basilica's Rocchette formed related parts of the protection of the sanctuary.