In 1295, according to legend, the house of the Virgin Mary landed in what is now the Italian town of Loreto after a miraculous flight from Nazareth. That association with air travel has been enough to make the town of 9,500 a profitable center of jet-age piety. Last week at least 50,000 pilgrims crammed in to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a papal proclamation designating the Madonna of Loreto as protector of aviators; they overflowed the 20 hotels and dozen boarding houses that have gone up in Loreto in recent years. Prosperity...
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