Loretto, Kentucky

Loretto is a home rule-class city in Marion County, Kentucky. The population was 723 at the 2020 census.

The city takes its name from the Sisters of Loretto, a Catholic congregation founded in 1812 at nearby St. Mary. The sisters themselves were named for Loreto in Italy, the site of the Basilica della Santa Casa which supposedly contains the original home of the Virgin Mary.

The sisters began a school at the site to educate the frontier children. By 1833, the community was large enough for its own post office. It was formally incorporated in 1866.

The Maker's Mark distillery in Loretto is rooted in a distillery established by Charles Burks in the early 19th century, and drastically expanded by his descendants in the late 1880s. The distillery was purchased by Bill Samuels in 1953, and the brand was renamed "Maker's Mark". The distillery, located 3 miles (5 km) east of Loretto, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and has been designated a National Historic Landmark. Its prominent barrel warehouses are concentrated in the western part of Loretto.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km2), of which 0.03 square miles (0.08 km2), or 1.02%, are water. The city is concentrated around the intersection of Kentucky Route 52 and Kentucky Route 49, 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Lebanon, 13 miles (21 km) southwest of Springfield, and 15 miles (24 km) south of Bardstown.