Visiting Santuario della Madonna di San Luca

After a few days exploring the world's oldest republic, the microstate of San Marino, near Rimini in eastern Italy, it was time to head further north and explore more cities in Italy.

On the way towards Venice, we took the opportunity for a lunchtime stop near Bologna to visit the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca. I visited Bologna again later in my six-week Italy trip.

The Santuario della Madonna di San Luca - or the Sanctuary of San Luca - is an icon of Bologna. Situated above the city of Bologna, and originally built in 1433, but rebuilt in the 18th century, the porticoes that lead up from Bologna to the Sanctuary have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2021.

How to Get to the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca

On foot

The most traditional way to visit the Santuario is on foot, walking the 4.9km along the UNESCO porticoes. Apparently there are 600 arches along the porticoes, which is the longest in the entire world. The hike up to the Santuario through the porticoes starts at the Arco Del Meloncello.

By car

We were there on a day when it was a soaring 36º and so instead of doing the 10km roundtrip hike, we drove up to the top instead. There is free parking just outside the entrance to the Santuario.

By public transport

The San Luca Express is an easy way to get straight from the centre of Bologna to the bus stop at the Santuario. It looks like a little red and black train and a roundtrip at the time of writing cost €13 per person.

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