Santa Maria di Loreto is a 16th century church in

Churches of Rome

There are more than 900 churches in Rome. Most, but not all, of these are Roman Catholic, with some notable Roman Catholic Marian churches.The first churches of Rome originated in places where Christians met. They were divided into three categories:...

 Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, central Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, located just across the street from the Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column

Trajan's Column is a Roman triumphal column in Rome, Italy, which commemorates Roman emperor Trajan's victory in the Dacian Wars. It was probably constructed under the supervision of the architect Apollodorus of Damascus at the order of the Roman Senate. It is located in Trajan's Forum, built near...

, near the giant Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II

Monument of Vittorio Emanuele II

The Monumento Nazionale a Vittorio Emanuele II or Altare della Patria or "Il Vittoriano" is a monument built to honour Victor Emmanuel, the first king of a unified Italy, located in Rome, Italy. It occupies a site between the Piazza Venezia and the Capitoline Hill...

.

The construction of this church was started in 1507 by Antonio da Sangallo the younger

Antonio da Sangallo the Younger

thumb|250px|The church of Santa Maria di Loreto near the [[Trajan's Market]] in [[Rome]], considered Sangallo's masterwork.thumb|250px|View of St. Patrick's Well in [[Orvieto]]....

, with an octagonal floor plan; the dome and the lantern were completed by Jacopo del Duca some 75 years later. The church was built atop an earlier 15th century chapel. It is most notable for the adjacent erection of a similarly domed 18th century church Santissimo Nome di Maria

Santissimo Nome di Maria

The Church of the Most Holy Name of Mary at the Trajan Forum is a Roman Catholic church in Rome. This church should not be confused with the church Santissimo Nome di Maria in Via Latina in south-east Rome....

, giving the semblance of twin churches.

The interior decoration is best noted for the statuary, including a statue at the entrance by Andrea Sansovino

Andrea Sansovino

Andrea dal Monte Sansovino or Andrea Contucci del Monte San Savino was an Italian sculptor active during the High Renaissance...

 and around the altar, four angels by Stefano Maderno

Stefano Maderno

Stefano Maderno was an Italian sculptor.-Biography:News about Maderno's life are scarce and often contradictory...

, and representations of four martyred virgin and Roman saints, apt companions to a church dedicated to the transposed house

Loreto (AN)

Loreto is a hilltown and comune of the Italian province of Ancona, in the Marche. It is mostly famous as the seat of the Basilica della Santa Casa, a popular Catholic pilgrimage site.-Location:...

 of the Virgin Mary’s Annunciation

Annunciation

The Annunciation, also referred to as the Annunciation to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Annunciation of the Lord, is the Christian celebration of the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Virgin Mary, that she would conceive and become the mother of Jesus the Son of God. Gabriel told Mary to name her...

. The four martyrs in order of completion were Saint Agnes

Saint Agnes

Agnes of Rome is a virgin–martyr, venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, and Lutheranism. She is one of seven women, excluding the Blessed Virgin, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass...

 by Pompeo Ferrucci, Saint Flavia Domitilla

Flavia Domitilla (saint)

Flavia Domitilla was daughter of Domitilla the Younger by an unknown father, perhaps Quintus Petillius Cerialis. She married her cousin, the consul Titus Flavius Clemens.-In Roman literature:...

 by Domenico de Rossi, Saint Cecilia

Saint Cecilia

Saint Cecilia is the patroness of musicians and Church music because as she was dying she sang to God. It is also written that as the musicians played at her wedding she "sang in her heart to the Lord". St. Cecilia was an only child. Her feast day is celebrated in the Roman Catholic, Anglican,...

 by Giuliano Finelli

Giuliano Finelli

Giuliano Finelli was an Italian Baroque sculptor who emerged from the workshop of Bernini.He was born in Carrara to a family of marble masons in a town associated with mining of the stone, and he initially trained with Michelangelo Naccherino...

, and the famous early Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 statue of Santa Susanna

Santa Susanna

The Church of Saint Susanna at the baths of Diocletian is a Roman Catholic parish church on the Quirinal Hill in Rome, with a titulus associated to its site that dates back to about 280...

 by Francois Duquesnoy

François Duquesnoy

François Duquesnoy was a Baroque sculptor in Rome. His more idealized representations are often contrasted with the emotional character of Bernini's works, while his style shows greater affinity to Algardi's sculptures....

.

External links

• http://www.romeartlover.it/Cupole.html