Saturday 7th September
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| Pausing in front of Ancona's port. |
Leaving Luisella's behind we headed for some sun and sea on the Adriatic coast. We stopped at a classy holiday village just south of Ancona in a place called Numana. Everything about it was good - and the beach was just five minutes' walk up the road.
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| The sanctuary in the basilica at Loreto containing (it is claimed) the original house that Mary lived in Nazareth. |
Checking the map on Saturday evening I realised we were very close to the town of Loreto, a place of longstanding pilgrimage for devotees of the Blessed Virgin. So we determined to attend mass there next day; and it turned out to be a very busy mass indeed; the basilica was packed with people and the militiary. Marilena managed to get a seat (but I had to stand).
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| The bishop welcomes Italian airforce people. |
Our Lady of Loreto is the patroness of pilots and those who fly, which is why the basilica was so packed with Italian air force uniforms. After the mass we took a stroll through the lively market in the town, just in time to see a helicopter fly-past skim over our heads.
Wow that is some poor carpenters house. They loved their relics in the Middle Ages. That sounds like an interesting mass. You two are having a great time by the looks of it. Tony
ReplyDeleteInevitably one visits a lot of churches in Italy - they are simply fabulous. Even the smallest village seems to rustle up its own cathedral. Where did they get the resources to do all this?
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