Madonna del Baraccano, Bologna, Renaissance church in Bologna, Italy

The Sanctuary of Madonna del Baraccano is a church with a central dome located south of Bologna's former city walls. The interior displays frescoes and was reshaped over several periods.

In 1401, during Gian Galeazzo Visconti's siege of Bologna, a wall was built to seal the spot where an elderly woman was found praying before a painted Madonna; when it collapsed, the Bentivoglio read it as a miracle. An oratory followed in 1438, and by 1497 Giovanni II Bentivoglio had Francesco del Cossa repaint the image and added a portico. The church itself was built in 1524, the porticoed forecourt in 1550 and the dome in 1682 to a design by Agostino Barelli.

The name comes from a shrine at an old wall where a praying woman was seen centuries ago. Visitors notice today how the interior is shaped by devotion and personal prayer.

The church stands at Piazza del Baraccano 2, at the southern edge of the walled centre, a short walk from Porta Santo Stefano. The site was under restoration after the May 2012 earthquake, so parts of the complex may be closed; check locally before planning a visit.

The 1472 fresco of the Enthroned Madonna with Angels by Francesco del Cossa, to the right of the main altar, contains a silhouette of the praying woman from the founding story. The image was repainted by Cossa in 1497 at the request of Giovanni II Bentivoglio, over an earlier version attributed to Lippo di Dalmasio.