Blessed Virgin of San Luca

The Virgin of the Portico of Mysteries · Bologna (Italy)

On the Colle della Guardia, in Bologna, an ancient Marian icon is venerated, with a portico of almost four kilometres with 666 arches and chapels dedicated to the mysteries of the Rosary. It is the Madonna di San Luca, a religious symbol of the city.

Origin and history

According to the pious tradition, the icon would have been painted by St Luke in Constantinople and brought to Bologna by the Basilian monk Eutimio at the request of the noble Angelica Bonfantini, who in 1192 donated the land of the hill. Historical studies consider this story a devout legend, without coetanea documentation.

Historically, already in the Middle Ages the icon was the object of veneration on the hill, and the city of Bologna resorted to it repeatedly in times of calamity. The present shrine, of elliptical plant and late Baroque style, was built between 1723 and 1765 according to the project of Carlo Francesco Dotti. Every year the image goes down in procession to the city.

The path that goes up to the sanctuary is flanked by a continuous portico (1674-1715) with chapels of the Mysteries of the Rosary; the prayer of the Rosary is thus in fact linked to the pilgrimage, although the image does not bear an official rosarian title.