Piazza Santa Lucia is one of the most beloved places for the people of Syracuse, as, in the city that gave her birth, the Holy Patroness suffered martyrdom in the year 304, becoming an example of virtue and courage for all. The area where the monumental complex of Santa Lucia Extra Moenia stands had acquired symbolic value for the followers of the Christian religion even before the 3rd century AD and this is evidenced by the presence of catacomb nuclei where Christians celebrated their rites and buried their dead. According to hagiographic tradition, moreover, the body of the Syracusan martyr was buried precisely in an arcosolium of the catacomb group, which from that moment became a place designated for religious celebrations held in the city. The Catacomb, underneath the current Piazza Santa Lucia, is characterized by a rather complex morphology. It is in fact made up of a community cemetery and some private law hypogea attributable to the 3rd, 4th, and 5th centuries and contains within it archaeological evidence dating back to the Byzantine era and the Norman age. Archaeology thus attests to the continuity of the Saint’s cult in the underground cemetery and in the upper Basilica.
Information about the Catacombs of Santa Lucia
Piazza Santa Lucia, snc
96100 Syracuse (Syracuse)
(+39) 0931.67946
pcas@catacombesiracusa.it
https://www.catacombesiracusa.it
Source: MIBACT
