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The Portico of San Luca

Already in the thirteenth century was a tradition that the pilgrims through inaccessible paths, marked by images placed along the route, dated back the hill to reach the ancient hermitage where he had preserved the Sacred image of the Beata Vergine of San Luca. The Portico of San Luca that departs from the port to the southwest of the city of Bologna (Porta Saragozza) and reaches up to the Sanctuary of San Luca, located on the hill of the Guard, was built between 1674 and 1715. This work which was attended by renowned designers and manufacturers, such as Francesco Carlo Bibiena, Carlo Francesco Dotti and Giangiacomo Monti, must be fulfilled at will and the participation of all citizens in its construction. With its 666 arches for a development of about 3.5 km, the portico of San Luca becomes a symbol of the city of Bologna and for its urban characteristics that mark for artistic and spiritual values it represents. The attraction of the whole appeal of pilgrims. tourists, scholars and artists from all over the world, it has gone beyond the boundaries of the city area so as to be inserted along the wing system of Bologna arcades on the Tentative List of sites World heritage (UNESCO). The changes undergone over time have made some additions, especially in the stretch "city" also called “lowland" with elevations ot condominiums and buildings that have been blamed on the porch without altering the sense of unity that becomes a motive and driving test of conservation and restoration that today you are going to perform. A big boost of San Luca Portico of restoration activity was given on the occasion of the Great Jubilee and Bologna 2000; However. the activity of the Committee of the Portico of San Luca, established in 1988, precisely with the institutional task of collecting the funds and manage the restoration of the Portico constituents arches, framing the importance already heard, and always alive to conservation and preservation of the monument. With the establishment of the Committee for the Restoration of the Portico of San Luca, the other aspect that stands out and that recurs as to the origin, which is the collective interest — both religious and civic — and public participation in the events that concern the Portico. The Portico of the restoration works are carried out for following periods in relation to the actual disposable income which in turn is reached: the plans for individual sections to be restored are subject to an authorization issued by the Superintendence of Architectural Heritage which evaluating expresses the characteristics that in each case, are detected and highlighting. However, there is an approval by the Superintendent on methodologies and general Portico of the Shrine of the technical restoration criteria agreed and tested with the Superintendence of Architectural Heritage: is this and the related regulations of the Portico. that individual projects are traced and verified in order to maintain the continuity that is essential to the preservation of the character of unity, just the Portico.