About 3.5km southwest of the city centre, the hilltop Basilica Santuario della Madonna di San Luca occupies a powerful and appropriately celestial position overlooking the teeming red-hued city below. The church houses a representation of the Virgin Mary, supposedly painted by St Luke and transported from the Middle East to Bologna in the 12th century. The 18th-century sanctuary is connected to the city walls by the world's longest portico, held aloft by 666 arches, beginning at Piazza di Porta Saragozza.
The most direct way to reach the basilica is on the San Luca Express , a tourist 'train' that leaves Piazza Maggiore six times daily, four days a week during peak tourist season. Alternatively, take bus 20 from the city centre to Villa Spada, where you can catch minibus 58 up to the sanctuary, or continue one more stop on bus 20 to the Meloncello arch and walk the remaining 2km under the arches.
