Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca, Minor basilica on Monte della Guardia, Bologna, Italy.
The Sanctuary of the Madonna di San Luca is a baroque basilica on Monte della Guardia above the city, its oval dome and wide front visible from across the plain. Inside, a colonnade with Corinthian capitals surrounds the central space beneath the dome, decorated with frescoes and stucco work.
A first small church was built here in 1194 to house the icon brought by a pilgrim from Constantinople. The current baroque structure was raised between 1723 and 1765 to designs by Carlo Francesco Dotti, completely replacing the earlier building.
The basilica houses a Byzantine icon of the Virgin Mary, believed by worshippers to have arrived in the city around 1160 and considered miraculous. Pilgrims still climb the long portico route today, its construction funded over more than a century by donations from the city's residents.
The portico begins at Porta Saragozza and runs 3.7 km to the sanctuary, climbing from 55 m at the Arco del Meloncello to 289 m, with an average gradient of 10.8% and a maximum of 19%. The steepest section, the Curva delle Orfanelle, lies about halfway up. The route is exposed in places, so carry water and allow time for the climb.
The 2 km climb from the Arco del Meloncello rises 234 m at an average of 10.8%, with a maximum of 19% shortly after the road crosses the portico, at a bend known as the Curva delle Orfanelle. The Giro d'Italia first finished here in 1956, when Charly Gaul won a 2.5 km time trial in 6 minutes 56 seconds, three seconds ahead of Federico Bahamontes. Since 1999 the Giro dell'Emilia one-day race has also ended at the sanctuary.
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