Sanctuary of the Madonna of San Luca

About this audio guide

This guide to the sanctuary above Bologna centers on the spring of fourteen thirty-three, when an earthquake and weeks of relentless rain threatened the city's harvest. It follows the decision to carry a centuries-old icon, believed to have arrived from Constantinople, down the hill toward the cathedral below. Best heard looking up at the six hundred sixty-six arches of the portico climbing the hillside beside you.