Since the very beginning of the architectural works
in the sanctuary,painting has made its appearance in Loreto wih
names of exceptional value.Among the most ancient works which
are still present there the following:the front of the sacristy
ofv ST.MARK,a fresco painted between 1479 and1480 by Melozzo da
Forli,an initial and splendid example of frontal painting which
appears to suspend the angels in flinht,and that of ST.John,a
fresco painted in 1481 by Luca Signorelli and which it appears
that the print of his master,Botticelli,is visible
in the flight of the angels.Even the presence and the work of
the great Piero della Francesca is certifiched,of whom traces
hava been sought,but to avail.An extremely high exameple of the
Italian mannerist school is be found in the fresco in the Treasure
Chambere,painted by Christopher Roncalli,the so-called Pomarancio,who
won the contract competing with Caravaggio ,the frescoes(1605-10)narrate
the life of Mary.The paintings by Federico Zuccari the dukes of
Urbino are extremely fascinating,with the addition of the refined
stucco works
by Brandani.The dome,which had previously been frescoed by the
Pomarancio was seriously
damaged by infiltration of water,enormous fragments of the original
paintings are to be found in the
Holy House today.In1556 the great painter Lorenzo Lotto,an Oblate
of the Holy House,died in Loreto,
leaving all of his last works to the sanctuary,these can still
be admired today in the art gallery of
the HOly House,along wit some splendid frescoes by Pellegrino
Tibaldi which were removed from
thevlateral chapels of the nave of the basilica.We will have to
wait until the XIXcentury for the best
paintrs of the purism school-the realists of the 1800'sand 1900's
to give a new impulse to painting:
the cycle of the frescoes of the dome by Cesare Maccari and those
of the German chapel by Ludovico
Seitz are extraordinary
