666 arches and 3.8 kilometers uphill to the Sanctuary of San Luca — the world's longest portico and Bologna's favorite pilgrimage.
Explore → Get Early AccessThe classic Bolognese constitutional: espresso at Porta Saragozza, then 3.8 uphill kilometers under the arches with the locals — joggers, nonne, students bargaining with saints before exams — and the view as the payoff.
The portico was a century-long civic crowdfunding project: every arch bears its donor's mark, from noble crests to guild symbols — the hillside as a ledger of who Bologna was in the 1700s.
The Bolognese treat it as sacred gym: the record-runners do it in under 20 minutes, the pilgrims on their knees take rather longer, and the CityRedBus cheats up the road for those saving their legs for the descent.
Alma Mater Studiorum - Since 1088
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