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 covered portico starts at the edge of the city and climbs uphill for about an hour on foot to the church, with the slope growing steeper towards the end. Those who prefer to avoid the climb can take a bus to the car park below the basilica and walk from there.
The hilltop serves regularly as a finish for professional cycling races, including stages of the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France, whose steep approach challenges riders. The narrow road to the summit offers spectators at the bends a close view of the effort required from the athletes.
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