2 Oct 2014 2
The Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca
After our climb up to the top of Asinelli Tower, we enquired at the tourist office the mysterious lone building on a hill top just outside of the city. We were told that it is the Sanctuary of Madonna di San Luca, located approximately 5km to the south-west of the city and easy to get to. There are ways to help cut the journey shorter but we opted to walk the route in entirety.
We started the walk up from at Porta Saragozza, conveniently located about 10 minutes walk away from our B&B. This is one of the several original remaining city gates from the 13th century, largely ignored until the Portico di San Luca was built in the 17th century. It lends itself to be the connecting gate from the city to San Luca and used in annual procession of a Byzantine icon of the Virgin and Child.