I finally organized my photos of my hike under the 666 portico arches to the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca (Il Santuario della Madonna di San Luca ) in Bologna. After a 45 minute walk to reach the beginning of the 666 portico arches, it took me an additional 40 minutes to reach the top.
The first photo (which I did not take) gives a good idea of the hike to the top. It’s a good thing I did not see this photo before doing the hike. The photo was originally linked to the San Luca website where I found it but the url is no longer active.
Because I had to stand on the sidewalk to take the next photo, I had a difficult time getting a good photo of the start of the walk. I decided against standing in the middle of the street and possibly risking getting run over.
Photo of the first few arches of the walk ~ at this point, I am thinking, this is going to be an easy hike.
Oh oh, stairs! Well there are only a few. Not so bad so far…
More stairs?
Am I getting close yet? An interesting view from the road…
Hooray, no more stairs. This walk should be a piece of cake now!
Wow, how beautiful…
Crap! Stairs again and now it is getting steep!
Wow, now this is worth the hike!
Am I there yet? It looks like that might be the top…
Could this really be the end up ahead?
I think it is!!
Hooray!! I made it!!
Next up…photos of the Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca.
shave ice & gelato 
Crikey – I’m glad I have your photos to look at. :)
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Your photos are amazing! It looks like you worked off several gelati on this hike. Can’t wait to see the sanctuary.
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Hi Girasoli, great photos. It does look like it was well worth the hike. Very beautiful. Thanks so much for posting and sharing your photos.
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It looks like quite a hike in the summer heat but the view must be spectacular. You kept a good pace to reach the sanctuary in 40 minutes. I’d love to do this hike one day. Fabulous photos!
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Wow — that looks like a tough hike, but very beautiful!
I’m also looking forward to seeing the sanctuary.
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I hope this inspires everyone to do this hike one day. It wouldn’t really have been as bad if I hadn’t been walking so much every day and was able to take the bus to the starting point. Reaching the top really made the entire walk worthwhile.
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Ahhh, I’m green with envy!! I read about this journey in a book once and have long thought how wonderful to do it myself – thanks for letting me trek along with you via your photos. And what gorgeous photos!! I might have to take the train to Bologna one of my days and at least walk part of this gorgeous path. Thanks so much for posting this.
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Super photos, G! I wanna go! Can’t seem to get enough of art and basilicas … Bologna has to be on my list after seeing these photos. Mahalo! m
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Anne, was it The Broker? Glad you enjoyed the photos.
Menehune, I have always been surprised that Bologna has not become more popular. Better for the rest of us though I guess.
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hello. we just did the walk last Friday. Thankfully it was not a hot day. Tough going but well worth it. Found your pix looking for the aerial overview !!
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Hi sue, thanks so much for your comment :) Glad you were enjoyed this hike. Isn’t it beautiful at the top? I hope you enjoyed Bologna!
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Hi,
I am in the middle of reading John Grisham’s novel, “The Broker”. It is a good read, typical of his earlier ‘lawyer’ novels. Anyway, the story is set
in Bologna. At one point, the character walks/climbs the 666 porticos in San Luca.
Curious, I googled and found your blog. Super pictures! I now have a better understanding of what the walkways look like. Thanks!
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Hi Deb, I read The Broker a few months before doing this hike. I thought a lot about that part in the story while doing the hike. Fun book about Bologna. I’m glad my photos helped you picture the story better. I really had no idea what the hike would be like til I did it. I hope you get to Bologna someday to see the 666 portico arches and Bologna in person. It is a wonderful city. Thanks for stopping by :)
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I just finished reading John Grishams’ “The Broker” and a lot of the story took place in Bologna. In it he described the walk up to San Luca via the portico and I wanted to see what it looked like. so glad to find your pictures. I know I will never be able to do that walk so I lived it through you. Thank you.
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Thanks Fran. I read that book also before I did the hike my first time. It was fun imagining the characters in the book while doing the hike. Glad I was able to provide photos for you to enjoy! I took more photos this past summer and hope to one day get my act together to finish up my trip report and post the photos in a new blog post.
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