Longest Portico in the World

The longest Portico in the world is in Balogna... So back to Balogna we went on Friday. 

The Portico de San Lucas is 3.8 km long (2.3 miles) and ends in a chapel on the top of a beautiful hill.  Sounded like a great way to get in a little walk and see yet another UNESCO sight.  

What we failed to recognize prior to starting our little "stroll" was that the uphill portico flucuates between a 10.5 and  20.6 gradient.  The Portico is a combination of stairs and steep ramps.  

As we huffed and puffed aggressively hiked along, we noticed a few natives with leg weights on their ankles and rocks in their heads apparently training for God knows what.  Very impressive.  

It took us 47 excruciating minutes to make it up to the top.  I was clearly somewhat delusional by the end.  As we rounded the last stairway, I saw a white kiosk.  My first thought was, "Oh thank God, they have a gelato stand up here next to the church!  We really deserve some after this up hill torture." Imagine my disappointment and heartbreak when I realized it was a church owned kiosk selling tickets to climb another 200 steps to the bell tower.  Hard pass from both of us on that opportunity.   

The view from the top was glorious once we wiped the sweat from our eyes and could once again see clearly.  

Here are a few photos. 






This unique opportunity will be a part of our Balogna memories and hopefully send us home with "buns of steel" or at least, reduce our buns of jelly. 
  

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