The Sanctuary’s history is lost in the depths of 1295. It is told that a December night of that year the Madonna’s house was transported by angels, from the Holy Land to Fiume in Istria, then in the Marche, first in Castelfidardo and finally laid on a hill of laurels, whence the name Lauretum.

For over 700 years the Loreto Basilisk has been an important place of worship, a destination for Catholic faithful and peregrines from every part of the world.

Inside the Basilisk the home of the Beata Vergine Maria, called Santa Casa (Holy House), regularly visited by thousands of ailing and suffering people.

Every year, on the second Sunday of June, a walking pilgrimage is organised from Macerata to Loreto.