Visiting Santuario della Madonna di San Luca in Bologna, Italy

jana meerman santuario di madonna di san luca bologna italy-22

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 the city again later in my six-week Italy trip.

→ Check out my complete guide to spending 24 hours in Bologna.

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 makes it 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.

Visiting the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca

The Santuario is free to visit. You can pay €5 for the San Luca Sky Experience which allows you to climb up into the dome for beautiful panoramic views across Bologna.

The outside architecture of the Santuario is seriously beautiful, with walls all in a gorgeous shade of orange. Once inside, I was blown away by the design of the ceiling, with four domes surrounding the painted central dome. The altar was fully surrounded in walls of coloured marble, which you could visit up close and personally through a small door on the righthand side.

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Jana Meerman

Hi! I’m Jana, a Dutch-German-British-Canadian with a dream of seeing every country in the world. I am a storyteller, photographer and adventurer passionate about documenting and sharing my travels.

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