The palace, situated on a hill not far from the Abbey of Montevergine but more accessible and functional for the service the monks provided to the local populations and pilgrims, is still home to the Verginian congregation, which settled there after 1732 when the previous building was destroyed by an earthquake. The new structure is a magnificent example of Baroque architecture: designed by Domenico Antonio Vaccaro, one of the most esteemed Neapolitan architects of the era, it was completed by the Neapolitan engineer Michelangelo Di Blasio with some radical modifications, such as the demolition of the tower intended as the abbot’s residence and the construction of the two imposing staircases immediately after the entrance door. On the entrance vault, the Abbey’s coat of arms is by the painter Antonio Vecchione, who also frescoed the vaults of the two small rooms housing the Diocesan Archive. On the first floor, the pharmacy is also noteworthy, with its precious jars, each bearing the abbey’s coat of arms on the front, housed in walnut cabinets crafted in an excellent style imitating the 18th century. On the noble floor, the chapter hall is a sumptuous 18th-century salon, recently (1957) covered in red damask, featuring three 16th-century Flemish tapestries; on the ceiling, the decorations and stuccoes were executed by the Conforto brothers from Calvanico. The chapel, with an altar of polychrome marbles topped by a canvas depicting “The Assumption into Heaven of the Holy House of Loreto” by Paolo De Maio, a pupil of Francesco Solimena, has undergone significant restoration work. In 1925, Vincenzo Volpe, a notable figure of 19th-century Neapolitan painting, worked here, designing the ceiling and marble floor, while the choir, in 18th-century imitation style, carved from wood and leather, was made by his son Geppino and brother Mario. The 18th-century wing also includes the refectory, where three tapestries are located, and the kitchen, while the so-called “students’ wing” was not part of the original project and was added in the second half of the 18th century. The beautiful internal garden, covering an area of 3000 square meters, is arranged around a large path in the shape of a Latin cross aligned with the turret on the façade where there is a Neapolitan-style clock (Barletta). The Montevergine Congregation still observes cloister, so the Loreto palace is only partially open to the public, limited to the part occupied by the Library with the attached Archive – under state jurisdiction – and the ancient pharmacy.
Information on Abbey Palace of Loreto
Via Loreto, 1
83013 Mercogliano (Avellino)
0825 787191 0825 789933
bmn-mnv@beniculturali.it/ montevergine@librari.beniculturali.it / biblioteca@santuariodimontevergine.com.
https://www.montevergine.librari.beniculturali.it
Source: MIBACT
