Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca

Bologna is famous for its porticoes, and the most remarkable of them leads to this church. The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca crowns the wooded Colle della Guardia, about 300 m above the plain just south-west of the historic centre. Its dome is visible from far across the plain. From the old city gate of Porta Saragozza, a covered arcade of 666 arches climbs 3.8 km to the church. It was built between 1674 and 1793 to shelter the procession that carries the sanctuary's icon of the Virgin down to the cathedral each year. It is considered the longest portico in the world, and in 2021 it was listed with the other porticoes of Bologna as a World Heritage Site. Many arches were paid for by local families, and some still hold small chapels and devotional images.

The icon is the heart of the place. Tradition holds that a pilgrim brought it from Constantinople in the 12th century and that it was painted by Saint Luke. In 1160 the bishop of Bologna, Gerardo Grassi, gave it to a hermitage chapel on the hill kept by two women, Azzolina and Beatrice Guezi. A church was begun in 1193, and from 1294 Dominican friars kept the sanctuary until Napoleon's suppression of the religious orders in 1799.

The present church was built in 1723 to designs by Carlo Francesco Dotti, with its outer tribunes completed by his son Giovanni Giacomo. It has a central plan under a large dome. The interior holds an Assumption by Guido Reni and a painting by Donato Creti, and works by Guercino hang in the sacristy. There are also frescoes by Vittorio Bigari and statues by Angelo Piò. The terraces around the church give a wide view over Bologna.

The road up the hill is a known climb in professional cycling. It hosts the finish circuit of the Giro dell'Emilia, featured in the Giro d'Italia as early as 1956 and appeared in the 2024 Tour de France. From 1931 to 1976 a cable car ran up the hill, and its abandoned top station still stands. Walking the portico, especially the steep final stretch, is the traditional way to arrive.

Getting there

The sanctuary is on the south-western edge of Bologna, close to the municipality of Casalecchio di Reno, about 1.9 km away. The portico starts at Porta Saragozza, one of the historic city gates. There is also a road to the top. The nearest airport is Bologna Guglielmo Marconi (BLQ), about 6 km away.