San Salvatore in Lauro is a late 17th century parish, regional and titular church of medieval foundation, located in the rione Ponte. The dedication is to the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. This is the regional church for expatriates from the Marches, and is now also the Roman shrine of Our Lady of Loreto.
For reference, a plan of the church is available
here.
The first church was apparently built in the 12th century, since a bull of Pope Urban III of 1186 describes it as dependent on San Lorenzo in Damaso. It was already dedicated to our Savior by 1192, and was most likely called "in lauro" because of a nearby garden which had a laurel tree growing over its wall.
It was rebuilt c. 1450 by Cardinal Latino Orsini, who took it over as the chapel of a convent of Augustinian Canons Regular which he had founded next door. The church was destroyed in the fire of 1591 and rebuilt starting in 1594 from the foundations after the design of Ottaviano Mascherini. The interior decoration was left uncompleted until finshed by Ludovico Rusconi Sassi and Nicola Salvi in 1736.
Pope Benedict XVI reestablished titular deaconry in 2007 for Cardinal Angelo Comastri, who had been the Archbishop of Loreto.
