Catacomba di Santa Lucia

Useful Information

photography — Burial of Santa **Lucia** in the Catacomba di Santa Lucia, Siracusa, Sicilia, Italia. **Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio** (*1571–✝1610), 1608, Public Domain.

Location:	Piazza Santa Lucia, 96100 Siracusa. Entrance in the Basilica Santuario di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro. (37.07305433607064, 15.29139874859614)
Open:	18-MAR to JUL Mon-Sat 9:30-12:30, 14:30-17:30. AUG Mon-Sat 10-13, 14:30-18. SEP to OCT Mon-Sat 9:30-12:30, 14:30-17:30. DEC to 06-JAN Mon-Sat 9:30-12:30, 14:30-17:30. Closed 13-DEC, 20-DEC to 25-DEC. [2024]
Fee:	Adults EUR 10, Children (6-15) EUR 7, Children (0-5) free, Students (-25) EUR 7. Groups: Pilgrims EUR 4, School Pupils EUR 4. [2024]
Classification:	Catacomb Cistern
Light:	Incandescent
Dimension:
Guided tours:	guided, Max=20.
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:
Address:	Basilica Santuario S. Lucia al Sepolcro, Via L. Bignami, 1, 96100 Siracusa, Tel: +39-0931-67946. E-mail: Kairós, Largo San Marciano, 3, 96100 Siracusa, Tel: +39-093164694, Cell: +39-347-5815794. E-mail: E-mail:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

220-230	catacombs started.
13-DEC-304	San Lucia dies as a martyr and is immediately buried in the catacombs.
1039	body of San Lucia relocated to Constantinople.
1916 to 1919	archaeological investigations by Paolo Orsi.

Description

The Catacomba di Santa Lucia (Catacomb of St Lucia) is dedicated to the popular Syracusan martyr. She is one of the most venerated and celebrated saints in Italy, there are more than 100 important places of worship throughout country. Practically every city has a road or a place named after her. She lived in the 4th century in Syracuse, and she died here, and was buried in the catacombs which were later named after her. During the following centuries artists like Tiepolo, Filippo Lippi, Lorenzo Lotto and Caravaggio were fascinated by her. For the painting by Caravaggio see on the top right. Nevertheless, there are many different versions of the legend. There is a single fact upon which various accounts agree: Lucia (*283–✝304), a native of Syracuse, was accused of being a Christian by a disappointed suitor. She was executed in 304, during the Diocletianic Persecution.

Lucia was born to rich and noble parents in 283. Her father was of Roman origin, but died when she was five years old. This left Lucia and her mother without a protective guardian. Her mother’s name was Eutychia, she came obviously from a Greek background. Lucia consecrated her virginity to God, and she hoped to distribute her dowry to the poor. Eutychia was suffering from a bleeding disorder, and feared for Lucia’s future, so she arranged Lucia’s marriage to a young man of a wealthy pagan family. Finally, Eutychia was persuaded to make a pilgrimage to Catania to the shrine of Saint Agatha in Catania, in hopes of a cure. St. Agatha came to Lucia in a dream and told her that because of her faith, her mother would be cured. And she foretold that Lucia would be the glory of Syracuse, as she was of Catania.
Lucia took the opportunity to persuade her mother to allow her to distribute a great part of her riches among the poor. Eutychia refused, but Lucia countered, "...whatever you give away at death for the Lord’s sake you give because you cannot take it with you. Give now to the true Savior, while you are healthy, whatever you intended to give away at your death."
News of this came to Lucia’s betrothed, who denounced her to Paschasius, the Governor of Syracuse. Paschasius ordered her to burn a sacrifice to the emperor’s image, but she refused. Then Paschasius condemned her to be ravished in a brothel. But when the guards came to take her away, they couldn't move her, not even with the help of a team of oxen. Bundles of wood were then piled up around her and set alight, but they did not burn. Finally, they killed her with a sword, which they plunged into her throat.

From the 15th century the following detail was added to the legend:

Before she died, she foretold that Diocletian would reign no more, and Maximian would meet his end. This angered Paschasius, and he ordered the guards to remove her eyes. But when her body was prepared for burial in the family mausoleum, it was discovered that her eyes had been miraculously restored. This is the reason that San Lucia is the Patron Saint of those with eye illnesses.

The center of the catacombs is called the Quaranta Martiri di Sebaste (Oratory of the Forty Martyrs). It is quite spectacular and quite different to the narrow and irregular passages of the catacomb. It was named after a fresco which depicts the famous legend. The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste or the Holy Forty were a group of Roman soldiers in the Legio XII Fulminata who were killed in the year 320 AD for the Christian faith.

Forty soldiers who had openly confessed to being Christians were sentenced by the prefect. They were left naked on a frozen pond near Sebaste on a bitterly cold night so that they would freeze to death. One gave up and left his companions to seek out the warm bath near the lake, which had been prepared for those who would abandon the Christian faith. As soon as he immersed in the warm water, the apostate went into shock and died instantly. One of the guards, Aglaius, saw a supernatural light at that moment. He then converted to Christianity, threw off his robe and joined the other thirty-nine. So there were forty again. At dawn, the frozen bodies of the Christians who were still showing signs of life were burnt and the ashes thrown into a river. However, the Christians collected the precious remains and the relics were distributed in many cities. The veneration of the forty martyrs became widespread.

The frescoes are from the Byzantine era when this place was a sort of church. Beneath the namesake fresco, there are depictions of Saint Marciano, Saint Lucia, Saints Cosmas and Damian, the Virgin Mary and the blessing Christ. There is also a well, probably used for baptismal actions. The catacomb was a place of pilgrimage, baptism and conversion for centuries. Later, during the 15th century, the place was transformed into a cistern for collecting rainwater. The frescoes where covered by thick layer of hydraulic mortar. During recent renovations, the mortar was removed and the frescoes rediscovered. Another spectacular chamber is the cuppola, a circular dome with an opening to the surface in the middle.

The Catacomba di Santa Lucia (Catacomb of St Lucy) is located below the square of the same name. The Piazza Santa Lucia is located in the Borgata area of Siracusa. It was started around 220-230 and has three subterranean levels. It was in use until the height of the Byzantine era (8th - 9th century). The catacombs have a community cemetery and some private hypogea dating back to the 3rd, 4th and 5th century. The entrance is today in the portico of the Basilica, an underground passage leads to the catacombs.

Beneath the Basilica Santuario di Santa Lucia al Sepolcro there is a chapel called Cappella del Sepolcro di Santa Lucia. The octogonal building is southeast of the basilica. On the western side, two staircases lead down to the tomb of the saint, the arcosolium. According to tradition, the body of the martyr was buried here. In 1685 this part of the catacomb was separated from the rest, and it was incorporated into the octagonal church. Inside the basement the is a sort of window or hole in a slab of limestone. This is, at least according to tradition, the empty grave of the Saint. Below this strange altar is a marble statue of the dead Saint Lucia.

The guided tours start at the Basilica, and are held by Kairós, the company which organizes the tours into both catacombs and several churches of the city.