Igreja de Nossa Senhora do Loreto

Catholic church in Lisbon, Portugal Built by a community of about 1,200 Italians (Venetian and Genoese merchants) in 1518, this church was badly damaged in a fire in 1651 and in the 1755 earthquake.

It was rebuilt in 1785, and is still known as the “church of the Italians.”

The interior has twelve side chapels in Italian marble, trompe l’oeil paintings creating the illusion of statues, an 18th-century organ, and a painting on the ceiling illustrating Our Lady of Loreto.

On the façade are sculptures by Borromini, one of the leading architects of Roman baroque.

loreto@dehonianos.org