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S. MARIA DI LORETO AL FORO DITRAIANO It is located on Trajan’s Forum in one of themost suggestive corners of the antique part of Rome. In the 1500s, the membersof the Confraternita dei Fornari attained the permission to build a smallchurch for their company. In 1507, a new church was started on the samelocation based on a project by Antonio da Sangallo il Giovane and completed byIacopo del Duca (1573-76). Between 1867 and 1873 some restoration works wereperformed while the sacristy was rebuilt. The lower part is made of bricks andtravertine. On the portal’s tympanum one finds a marble group carved by AndreaSansovino (1550) portraying the Vergine col Bambino and the house of Loreto. Theupper part consists of an octagonal dome surmounted by a lantern. Theinterior is on an octagonal plan with four chapels by the sides. The high altaris a work by Gaspare De Vecchi (1628). The church also treasures two canvasesby Cavalier d’Arpino: “Transito” and “Natività della Vergine” (1630). Particularlysignificance embodies the sculptural decorations among which one can mention two“angels” by Stefano Maderno and “Santa Susanna” by François Duquesnoy(1630-33).