September 19, 2025 · 3.05 miles · 687ft elevation · Bologna
The number is not an accident.
Six hundred and sixty-six arches stretch from the Porta Saragozza at the edge of Bologna’s old city all the way up to the Santuario della Madonna di San Luca on the hill above — the longest portico in the world, built between 1674 and 1793. The Bolognese chose that number deliberately. The long, serpentine path represents the devil; the Madonna at the summit, his defeat. You walk the devil’s spine to reach her feet.
We didn’t know any of this when we started climbing. We were mainly aware of the heat.
It was the morning after arriving in Bologna — September, and still properly, unashamedly summer. The city was warm before nine o’clock and by the time we reached the Meloncello arch, where the portico leaves the flat city streets and begins its serious ascent into the hills, we were already grateful for whatever shade those centuries-old arches could offer. The first section through the residential streets of Saragozza is lovely — cafés and small shops tucked beneath the arcades, locals going about their morning, the kind of neighbourhood life that Bologna does quietly and well.
Then the climbing starts.
The upper section is a mix of long ramps and flights of stairs, winding steadily upward through warm terracotta arches with the city gradually appearing through the gaps behind you. It is hard work. Not technical, not dangerous — just relentless. Each time you think you can see the top, the path bends again and there are more arches ahead. The elevation gain is 687 feet in just over three miles, and you feel every one of them.
But there are distractions. The ceiling frescoes and votive chapels tucked into the arches tell the story of the pilgrims who walked this route for centuries before us — and the coats of arms of the wealthy Bolognese families who funded the whole endeavour are carved into the walls if you look up. We did a lot of looking up. It slowed us down considerably.
Fresh flowers at the feet of a statue tucked into the portico wall. Someone had been up here that morning before us.
At the top: the baroque basilica, the views, and a drink that was absolutely necessary and absolutely earned. Bologna spreads out below in all directions.
The terracotta rooftops stretching north toward the Po. The Apennine hills rolling away to the south. And — unexpectedly, magnificently — the Renato Dall’Ara stadium laid out below us like a model, Bologna FC’s red and blue seats glowing in the September sun. You don’t expect a football ground to be part of the view from a pilgrimage site. Bologna delivers.
They said it was a religious site. They were right — no beer to be had up top, only water, which we drank gratefully in the sun. And then, five minutes down the road, we found a small bar that had absolutely no such restrictions. Sarah’s expression says everything.
The descent is easier on the lungs and harder on the knees. The portico feels different going down — the light shifts through the gaps, the city below gets closer arch by arch, and you notice details you powered past on the way up. Take it slowly. It rewards you.
One last thought — and we mean this kindly — do this walk in spring or autumn if you possibly can. We loved every step of it, and we’d do it again in a heartbeat. But September in Bologna is hot. Properly, relentlessly, no-mercy hot. We survived. We’d probably do it again. But not in a heatwave — unless you really, really want us to. 😄
Distance: 3.05 mi · Moving time: 1:09:01 · Elevation: 687ft · Steps: 6,930 Route: Porta Saragozza · Via Saragozza · Arco del Meloncello · Portico di San Luca · Santuario della Madonna di San Luca