The collection of Dr. Antonio Brighetti dedicated to the Virgin venerated in Bologna forms the core of the museum, supplemented by objects owned by the sanctuary and private individuals, as well as reproductions of items and documents from other local cultural institutions that collectively depict the exceptional story of this sacred image. On the ground floor, the educational room introduces the exhibition path dedicated to the image and its history, which begins in the circular double-height room where there is a striking reproduced and enlarged image of the Icon.
The contents summarize its history and legend: from the transportation of the Madonna to Bologna, to the scientific investigations carried out in 1991 on the panel that revealed an older and more precious design dating back to the 9th-10th century. The first floor is dedicated to the Sanctuary of San Luca and the Portico; the exhibition is introduced by a video on the recent restoration and a 18th-century wooden model of the place of worship, followed by panels and display cases narrating the history of the sanctuary’s construction, with three successive churches as the importance and devotion to the Madonna of San Luca grew and spread. Also featured is the design of the Portico, the link between the plain and the hill, a monument also commissioned and funded by citizens and devotees.
In the next room, a zenithal projection video shows the unfoldings of the processions over the centuries, while the cases on the walls display the procession programs with original 18th-century prints. The upper tower rooms are developed on two levels, the first dedicated to the theme of the processions and the second to the history of the cult of the Blessed Virgin of San Luca.
Ceremonial apparatus and examples of objects and curiosities of all kinds are exhibited, from the 18th-century papier-mâché statues that adorned the ancient canopy, to the icon’s covering mantles, to devotional ex-votos.
