Our Lady of Loreto on Gaj

Why it is worth your time

Our Lady of Loreto on the Gaj hill is Primosten's new pilgrim heart and the lookout that changed the town's map: the huge statue of the Mother of God, raised on the height above town and solemnly consecrated in 2017, is visible from the sea and from the coastal road, and its mosaic mantle catches the sun by day like fish scale. To the top lead an arranged road and a walking path with resting stations; the climb from town takes half an hour of easy walking through the maquis, and one may also drive to the car park below the summit. The reward is double.

First the statue itself, whose height and position impress regardless of the visitor's faith; second the view, the widest in the surroundings: the old town on its islet as on a palm, Raduca with its pines, the vineyards in their stone honeycomb toward the south and the open sea with the islands of the Sibenik archipelago. On the feast of Our Lady of Loreto in December and on summer evenings processions and open-air masses arrive here, and benches and lighting keep the place pleasant after sunset too. Advice to photographers: come an hour before dusk, when the old town's lights come on.