Description of the attraction
The name of one of the most famous Prague monasteries - Loreta - is closely related to the House of Our Lady, which is now located in Italy. The hut in which the Mother of God lived was dismantled and brought from Palestine to the Italian town of Loreto, which has become a holy place for many believers. In the Middle Ages, people believed that the hut moved to Italy by itself. Among those who came to venerate this shrine were Czechs. Around the same time, the fashion appeared to recreate similar huts in different European cities. Thus, a copy of the House of the Virgin Mary appeared in Prague. The work on the marble chapel of Santa Casa, which exactly repeats the Hut of the Virgin, was led by the Italian sculptor D. B. Orsini. Inside there is a silver altar, and the walls are decorated with frescoes that have survived from the 17th century.
This chapel is considered the heart of the Loretan monastery. All other buildings were erected around it.
Next to the chapel is the Church of the Nativity of Christ, built in the Baroque style. The relics of the Martyrs Felicissimus and Marsyas are kept in this temple. The bells on the tower of the church were created at the end of the 17th century in Amsterdam and are still used by the monastic brethren.
After visiting the chapel and the main temple, as well as looking into the well right in the center of Loreta's courtyard, you need to go to the second floor of the gallery that encircles the courtyard. There is a monastery treasury, the main exhibit of which is the monstrance "Prague Sun", studded with diamonds.
Before leaving the monastery, there is a chapel with a sculpture of the crucified Vilgefortis. She is considered the patroness of wives who are unhappy in marriage.
